Ill 


"LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG," 


BT 


CHARLES    READE, 

'OB  OP    "IT  IB  NEVER  TOO   LATE   TO  MEND,"  "WHITE  LIES,"  ETC. 


NEW   YORK: 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 
FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 

1859. 


U 


PREFACE. 


SHOULD  these  characters,  imbedded  in  carpet  inci- 
dents, interest  the  public  at  all,  they  will  probably  re- 
appear in  more  potent  scenes.  This  design,  which  I 
may  never  live  to  execute,  is,  I  fear,  the  only  excuse 
I  can  at  present  offer  for  some  pages,  forming  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  this  volume. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG, 


CHAPTER  I. 

NEARLY  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  Lucy  Fountain,  a 
young  lady  of  beauty  and  distinction,  was,  by  the  death  of 
her  mother,  her  sole  surviving  parent,  left  in  the  hands  of 
her  two  trustees,  Edward  Fountain,  Esq.,  of  Font  Abbey, 
and  Mr.  Bazalgette,  a  merchant  whose  wife  was  Mrs.  Fount- 
ain's half-sister. 

They  agreed  to  lighten  the  burden  by  dividing  it.  She 
should  spend  half  the  year  with  each  trustee  in  turn,  until 
marriage  should  take  her  off  their  hands. 

Our  mild  tale  begins  in  Mr.  Bazalgette's  house,  two  years 
after  the  date  of  that  arrangement. 

The  chit-chat  must  be  your  main  clew  to  the  characters. 
In  life  it  is  the  same.  Men  and  women  won't  come  to  you 
ticketed,  or  explanation  in  hand. 

"  Lucy,  you  are  a  great  comfort  in  a  house :  it  is  so  nice 
to  have  some  one  to  pour  out  one's  heart  to ;  my  husband 
is  no  use  at  all." 

"  Aunt  Bazalgette !" 

"  In  that  way.  You  listen  to  my  faded  illusions,  to  the 
aspirations  of  a  nature  too  finely  organized,  ah !  to  find  its 
happiness  in  this  rough,  selfish  world.  When  I  open  my 
bosom  to  him,  what  does  he  do  1  Guess  now — whistles." 

"  Then  I  call  that  rude." 

"  So  do  I ;  and  then  he  whistles  more  and  more." 

"Yes  ;  but,  aunt,  if  any  serious  trouble  or  grief  fell  upon 
you,  you  would  find  Mr.  Bazalgette  a  much  greater  comfort 
and  a  better  stay  than  poor  spiritless  me." 

"  Oh,  if  the  house  took  fire  and  fell  about  our  ears,  he 
would  come  out  of  his  shell,  no  doubt ;  or  if  the  children  all 


6  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

died  one  after  another,  poor  dear  little  souls ;  but  those  great 
troubles  only  come  in  stories.  Give  me  a  friend  that  can 
sympathize  with  the  real  hourly  mortifications  of  a  too  sus- 
ceptible nature;  sit  on  this  ottoman,  and  let  me  go  on. 
Where  was  I  when  Jones  came  and  interrupted  us  ?  they  al- 
ways do  just  at  the  interesting  point." 

Miss  Fountain's  face  promptly  wreathed  itself  into  an  ex- 
pectant smile.  She  abandoned  her  hand  and  her  ear,  and 
leaned  her  graceful  person  toward  her  aunt,  while  that  lady 
murmured  to  her  in  low  and  thrilling  tones — his  eyes,  his 
Icng  hair,  his  imaginative  expressions,  his  romantic  projects 
of  frugal  love ;  how  her  harsh  papa  had  wnrned  Adonis  off 
the  premises ;  how  Adonis  went  without  a  word  (as  pale  as 
death,  love),  and  soon  after,  in  his  despair,  flung  himself — 
to  an  ugly  heiress ;  and  how  this  disappointment  had  dark- 
ened her  whole  life,  and  so  on. 

Perhaps,  if  Adonis  had  stood  before  her  now,  rolling  his 
eyes,  and  his  phrases  hot  from  the  annuals,  the  flourishing 
matron  might  have  sent  him  to  the  servants'  hall  with  a 
wave  of  her  white  and  jeweled  hand.  But  the  melody  dis- 
arms this  sort  of  brutal  criticism — a  woman's  voice  relating 
love's  young  dream ;  and  then  the  picture — a  matron  still 
handsome  pouring  into  a  lovely  virgin's  ear  the  last  thing 
she  ought ;  the  young  beauty's  eyes  mimicking  sympa- 
thy;  the  ripe  beauty's  soft,  delicious  accents — purr!  pun*! 
purr! 

Crash  over  head !  a  window  smashed  aie !  aie !  clatter ! 
clatter !  screams  of  infantine  rage  and  feminine  remon- 
strance, feet  pattering,  and  a  general  hullabaloo,  cut  the  soft 
recital  in  two.  The  ladies  unclasped  hands  like  guilty 
things  surprised. 

Lucy  sprang  to  her  feet ;  the  oppressed  one  sank  slowly 
and  gracefully  back,  inch  by  inch,  on  the  ottoman,  with  a 
sigh  of  ostentatious  resignation,  and  gazed  martyr-like  OH 
the  chandelier. 

"Will  you  not  go  up  to  the  nursery1?"  cried  Lucy,  in  a 
flutter. 


LOVE    ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  7 

"No,  dear,"  replied  the  other,  faintly,  but  as  cool  as  a 
marble  slab;  "you  go;  cast  some  of  your  oil  upon  those 
ever-troubled  waters,  and  then  come  back  and  let  us  try 
once  more." 

Miss  Fountain  heard  but  half  this  sentence  ;  she  was  al- 
ready gliding  up  the  stairs.  She  opened  the  nursery  door, 
and  there  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room  "  Original  Sin." 
Its  name,  after  the  flesh,  was  Master  Reginald.  It  was 
half  past  six,  had  been  baptized  in  church,  after  which  ev- 
ery child  becomes,  according  to  polemic  divines  of  the  day, 
"  a  little  soul  of  Christian  fire"  until  it  goes  to  a  public 
school;  and  there  it  straddled,  two  scarlet  cheeks  puffed 
out  with  rage,  soft  flaxen  hair  streaming,  cerulean  eyes 
glowing,  the  poker  grasped  in  two  chubby  fists:  it  had 
poked  a  window  in  vague  ire,  and  now  threatened  two  fe- 
males with  extinction  if  they  riled  it  any  more. 

The  two  grown-up  women  were  discovered,  erect,  but  flat, 
in  distant  corners,  avoiding  the  bayonet  and  trusting  to  their 
artillery. 

"  Wicked  boy !"  } 

"Naughty  boy!"  >  (grape.) 

"  Little  ruffian,  etc. !"  ) 

And  hints  as  to  the  ultimate  destination  of  so  sanguinary 
a  soul  (round  shot). 

"  Ah !  here's  miss.  Oh !  miss,  we  are  so  glad  you  are 
come  up  :  don't  go  a  nigh  him,  miss ;  he  is  a  tiger." 

Miss  Fountain  smiled,  and  went  gracefully  on  one  knee 
beside  him ;  this  brought  her  angelic  face  level  with  the 
fallen  cherub's:  "What  is  the  matter,  dear?"  asked  she,  in 
a  tone  of  soft  pity. 

The  tiger  was  not  prepared  for  this  :  he  dropped  his  poker, 
and  flung  his  little  arms  round  his  cousin's  neck. 

"  I  love  YOU,  oh !  oh !  oh !" 

"Yes,  dear;  then  tell  me,  now — what  is  the  matter? 
What  have  you  been  doing?" 

"  Noth — noth — nothing — its  th — them  been  na — a — ag- 
ging  me !" 


8  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  Nagging  you1?"  and  she  smiled  at  the  word  and  a  tiger's 
horror  of  it.  "Who  has  been  nagging  you,  love?" 

"Th — those — bit — bit — it."  The  word  was  unfortu- 
nately lost  in  a  sob.  It  was  followed  by  red  faces  and  two 
simultaneous  yells  of  remonstrance  and  objurgation. 

"I  must  ask  you  to  be  silent  a  minute,"  said  Miss  Fount- 
ain, quietly.  "  Reginald,  what  do  you  mean  by — by — nag- 
ging?" 

Reginald  explained.  "By  nagging  he  meant — why — 
nagging." 

"Well,  then,  what  had  they  been  doing  to  him?" 

No ;  poor  Reginald  was  not  analytical,  dialectical,  and 
critical,  like  certain  pedanticules  who  figure  in  stoiy  as  chil- 
dren. He  was  a  terrible  infant,  not  a  horrible  one. 

"  They  won't  fight,  and  they  won't  make  it  up,  and  they 
keep  nagging,"  was  all  could  be  got  out  of  him. 

"  Come  with  me,  dear,"  said  Lucy,  gravely. 

"Yes,"  assented  the  tiger,  softly,  and  went  out  awe-struck, 
holding  her  hand,  and  paddling  three  steps  to  each  of  her 
serpentine  glides. 

Seated  in  her  own  room,  tiger  at  knee,  she  tried  topics  of 
admonition  ;  during  these  his  eyes  wandered  about  the  room 
in  search  of  matter  more  amusing,  so  she  was  obliged  to 
bring  up  her  reserve. 

"  And  no  young  lady  will  ever  marry  you." 

"  I  don't  want  them  to,  cousin ;  I  wouldn't  let  them ;  you 
will  marry  me,  because  you  promised." 

"Did  I?" 

"  W1)y?  JO"  know  you  did — upon  your  honor ;  and  no 
lady  or  gentleman  ever  breaks  their  word  when  they  say 
that ;  you  told  me  so  yourself,"  added  he  of  the  inconven- 
ient memory. 

"  Ah  !  but  there  is  another  rule  that  I  forgot  to  tell  you." 

"What  is  that t" 

"That  no  lady  ever  marries  a  gentleman  who  has  a  vio- 
lent temper." 

"Oh,  don't  they?" 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  9 

"  No ;  they  would  be  afraid.  If  you  had  a  wife,  and 
took  up  the  poker,  she  would  faint  away,  and  die — perhaps !" 

"Oh  dear!" 

"  I  should." 

"  But,  cousin,  you  would  not  want  the  poker  taken  to  you ; 
you  never  nag." 

"  Perhaps  that  is  because  we  are  not  married  yet." 

"What,  then,  when  we  are,  shall  you  turn  like  the  oth- 
ers ?" 

"Impossible  to  say." 

"Well,  then"  (after  a  moment's  hesitation),  "I'll  marry 
you  all  the  same." 

"  No !  you  forget ;  I  shall  be  afraid  until  your  temper 
mends." 

"  I'll  mend  it.  It  is  mended  now.  See  how  good  I  am 
now,"  added  he,  with  self-admiration  and  a  shade  of  sur- 
prise. 

"  I  don't  call  this  mending  it,  for  I  am  not  the  one  that 
offended  you ;  mending  it  is  promising  me  never,  never  to 
call  naughty  names  again.  How  would  you  like  to  be  call- 
ed a  dog?" 

"I'd  kill 'em." 

"  There,  you  see — then  how  can  you  expect  poor  nurse 
to  like  it?" 

"You  don't  understand,  cousin — Tom  said  to  George  the 
groom  that  Mrs.  Jones  was  an — old — stingy — b — " 

"  I  don't  want  to  hear  any  thing  about  Tom." 

"  He  is  such  a  clever  fellow,  cousin.  Sc  I  think,  if  Jones 
is  an  old  one,  those  two  that  keep  nagging  me  must  be 
young  ones.  What  do  you  think  yourself?"  asked  Regi- 
nald, appealing  suddenly  to  her  candor. 

"And  no  doubt  it  was  Tom  that  taught  you  this  other 
vulgar  word  '  nagging,' "  was  the  evasive  reply. 

"  No,  that  was  mamma." 

Lucy  colored,  wheeled  quickly,  and  demanded  severely  of 
the  terrible  infant,  "Who  is  this  Tom?" 

"What!  don't  you  know  Tom?"  Reginald  began  to 
A2 


10  LOVE    ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONG. 

lose  a  grain  of  his  respect  for  her.  "  Why,  he  helps  in  the 
stables  ;  oh,  cousin,  he  is  such  a  nice  fellow  !" 

"  Reginald,  I  shall  never  marry  you  if  you  keep  company 
with  grooms,  and  speak  their  language." 

"  Well !"  sighed  the  victim,  "  I'll  give  up  Tom  sooner 
than  you." 

"  Thank  you,  dear ;  now  I  am  flattered.  One  struggle 
more :  we  must  go  together  and  ask  the  nurses'  pardon." 

"Must  we?  ugh!" 

"Yes — and  kiss  them — and  make  it  up." 

Reginald  made  a  wry  face ;  but,  after  a  pause  of  solemn 
reflection,  he  consented,  on  condition  that  Lucy  would  keep 
near  him,  and  kiss  him  directly  afterward. 

"  I  shall  be  sure  to  do  that,  because  you  will  be  a  good 
boy  then." 

Outside  the  door  Reginald  paused :  "  I  have  a  favor  to 
ask  you,  cousin — a  great  favor.  You  see  I  am  very  little, 
and  you  are  so  big ;  now  the  husband  ought  to  be  the  big- 
gest." 

"  Quite  my  own  opinion,  Reggy." 

"  Well,  dear,  now  if  you  would  be  so  kind  as  not  to  grow 
any  older  till  I  catch  you  up,  I  shall  be  so  very,  very,  very 
much  obliged  to  you,  dear." 

"I  will  try,  Reggy.  Nineteen  is  a  very  good  age.  I 
will  stay  there  as  long  as  my  friends  will  let  me." 

"  Thank  you,  cousin." 

"But  that  is  not  what  we  have  in  hand." 

The  nurses  were  just  agreeing  what  a  shame  it  was  of 
miss  to  take  that  little  vagabond's  part  against  them,  when 
she  opened  the  door.  "  Nurse,  here  is  a  penitent — a  young 
gentleman  who  is  never  going  to  use  rude  words,  or  be  vio- 
lent and  naughty  again." 

"La!  miss,  why  it  is  witchcraft — the  dear  child — soon 
up  and  soon  down,  as  a  boy  should." 

"Beg  par'n,  nurse — beg  par'n,  Kitty,"  recited  the  dear 
child,  late  tiger,  and  kissed  them  both  hastily ;  and,  the 
double  formula  gone  through,  ran  to  Miss  Fountain  and 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  11 

kissed  her  with  warmth,  while  the  nurses  were  reciting 
"little  angel,"  "all  heart,"  etc. 

"  To  take  the  taste  out  of  my  mouth,"  explained  the  pen- 
itent, and  was  left  with  his  propitiated  females ;  and  didn't 
they  nag  him  at  short  intervals  until  sunset !  But,  strong 
in  the  contemplation  of  his  future  union  with  Cousin  Lucy, 
this  great  heart  in  a  little  body  despised  the  pins  and  nee- 
dles that  had  goaded  him  to  fury  before. 

Lucy  went  down  to  the  drawing-room.  She  found  Mrs. 
Bazalgette  leaning  with  one  elbow  on  the  table,  her  hand 
shading  her  high,  polished  forehead ;  her  grave  face  reflect- 
ing great  mental  power  taxed  to  the  uttermost.  So  Newton 
looked,  solving  Nature. 

Miss  Fountain  came  in  full  of  the  nursery  business,  but, 
catching  sight  of  so  much  mind  in  labor,  approached  it  with 
silent  curiosity. 

The  oracle  looked  up  with  an  absorbed  air,  and  delivered 
itself  very  slowly,  with  eye  turned  inward. 

"  I  am  afraid — I  don't  think — I  quite  like  my  new  dress." 

"  That  is  unfortunate." 

"  That  would  not  matter ;  I  never  like  any  thing  till  I 
have  altered  it;  but  here  is  Baldwin  has  just  sent  me  word 
that  her  mother  is  dying,  and  she  can't  undertake  any  work 
for  a  week.  Provoking!  couldn't  the  woman  die  just  as 
well  after  the  ball?" 

"Oh,  aunt!" 

"  And  my  maid  has  no  more  taste  than  an  owl.  What 
on  earth  am  I  to  do  ?" 

"  Wear  another  dress." 

"What  other  can  If 

"  Nothing  can  be  prettier  than  your  white  mousseline  de 
soie  with  the  tartan  trimming." 

"  No,  I  have  worn  that  at  four  balls  already  ;  I  won't  be 
known  by  my  colors,  like  a  bird.  I  have  made  up  my  mind 
to  wear  the  jaune,  and  I  will,  in  spite  of  them  all ;  that  is, 
if  I  can  find  any  body  who  cares  enough  for  me  to  try  it 
on,  and  tell  me  what  it  wants."  Lucy  offered  at  once  to 
go  with  her  to  her  room  and  try  it  on. 


12  LOVE    ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

"  No — no — it  is  so  cold  there ;  we  will  do  it  here  by  the 
fire.  You  will  find  it  in  the  large  wardrobe,  dear.  Mind 
how  you  carry  it.  Lucy !  lots  of  pins." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  then  rang  the  bell,  and  told  the  servant 
to  say  she  was  out  if  any  one  called,  no  matter  who. 

Meantime  Lucy,  impressed  with  the  gravity  of  her  office, 
took  the  dress  carefully  down  from  the  pegs;  and  as  it 
would  have  been  death  to  crease  it,  and  destruction  to  let 
its  hem  sweep  against  any  of  the  inferior  forms  of  matter, 
she  came  down  the  stairs  and  into  the  room  holding  this 
female  weapon  of  destruction  as  high  above  her  head  as 
Judith  waves  the  sword  of  Holofernes  in  Etty's  immortal 
picture. 

The  other  had  just  found  time  to  loosen  her  dress  and 
lock  one  of  the  doors ;  she  now  locked  the  other,  and  the 
rites  began.  Well ! !  ?  t 

"  It  fits  you  like  a  glove." 

"  Really  ?  tell  the  truth  now ;  it  is  a  sin  to  tell  a  story — 
about  a  new  gown.  What  a  nuisance  one  can't  see  behind 
one!" 

"  I  could  fetch  another  glass,  but  you  may  trust  my  word, 
aunt.  This  point  behind  is  very  becoming;  it  gives  dis- 
tinction to  the  waist." 

"Yes — Baldwin  cuts  these  bodies  better  than  Olivier; 
but  the  worst  of  her  is,  when  it  comes  to  the  trimming  you 
have  to  think  for  yourself;  the  woman  has  no  mind :  she 
is  a  pair  of  hands,  and  there  is  an  end  of  her." 

"  I  must  confess  it  is  a  little  plain,  for  one  thing,"  said 
Lucy. 

"Why,  you  little  goose,  you  don't  think  I  am  going  to 
wear  it  like  this.  No ;  I  thought  of  having  down  a  wreath 
and  bouquet  from  Foster's  of  violets  and  heartsease — the 
bosom  and  sleeves  covered  with  blond,  you  know,  and 
caught  up  here  and  there  with  a  small  bunch  of  the  flowers. 
Then,  in  the  centre  heartsease  of  the  bosom,  I  meant  to 
huve  had  two  of  my  largest  diamonds  set — hush  !" 

The  door-handle  worked  viciously ;  then  came  rap !  rap  I 
rap!  rap! 


LOVE    ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  18 

"  Tic — tic — tic :  this  is  always  the  way.  Who  is  there  1 
Go  away ;  you  can't  come  here." 

"But  I  want  to  speak  to  you.  What  the  deuce  are  you 
doing?"  said  through  the  key-hole  the  wretch  that  owned 
the  room  in  a  mere  legal  sense. 

"  We  are  trying  a  dress.     Come  again  in  an  hour." 

"  Confound  your  dresses !     Who  is  we  ?" 

"  Lucy  has  got  a  new  dress." 

"Aunt!"  whispered  Lucy,  in  a  tone  of  piteous  expostu- 
lation. 

"  Oh,  if  it  is  Lucy.  Well,  good-by,  ladies.  •  I  am  obliged 
to  go  to  London  at  a  moment's  notice  for  a  couple  of  days. 
You  will  have  done  by  when  I  come  back,  perhaps ;"  and 
off  went  Bazalgette  whistling,  but  not  best  pleased.  He 
had  told  his  wife  more  than  once  that  the  drawing-rooms 
and  dining-rooms  of  a  house  are  the  public  rooms,  and  the 
bed-rooms  the  private  ones. 

Lucy  colored  with  mortification.  It  was  death  to  her  to 
annoy  any  one :  so  her  aunt  had  thrust  her  into  a  cruel  po- 
sition. 

"Poor  Mr.  Bazalgette!"  sighed  she. 

"  Fiddle  de  dee.  Let  him  go,  and  come  back  in  a  better 
temper — set  transparent ;  so  then,  backed  by  the  violet,  you 
know,  they  will  imitate  dew-drops  to  the  life." 

"  Charming !  Why  not  let  Olivier  do  it  for  you,  as  poor 
Baldwin  can  not?" 

"  Because  Olivier  works  for  the  Claytons,  and  we  should 
have  that  Emily  Clayton  coming  out  r»s  my  double ;  and  as 
we  visit  the  same  houses — " 

"  And  as  she  is  extremely  pretty — aunt,  what  a  general- 
issima  you  are !" 

"  Pretty !  Snub-nosed  little  toad.  No,  she  is  not  pretty. 
But  she  is  eighteen ;  so  I  can't  afford  to  dress  her.  No.  I 
sec  I  shall  have  to  moderate  my  views  for  this  gown,  and 
buy  another  dress  for  the  flowers  and  diamonds.  There, 
take  it  off,  and  let  us  think  it  calmly  over.  1^  never  act 
in  a  hurry  but  I  am  sorry  for  it  afterward — I  mean  in 


14  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME  LONG- 

things  of  real  importance."  The  gown  was  taken  off  in 
silence,  broken  only  by  occasional  sighs  from  the  sufferer, 
in  whose  heart  a  dozen  projects  battled  fiercely  for  the  mas- 
tery, and  worried  and  sore  perplexed  her,  and  rent  her  in- 
most soul  fiercely  divers  ways. 

"  Black  lace,  dear,"  suggested  Lucy,  soothingly. 

Mrs.  B.  curled  her  arm  lovingly  round  Lucy's  waist. 
"Just  what  I  was  beginning  to  think,"  said  she,  warmly. 
"And  we  can't  both  be  mistaken,  can  we?  But  where  can 
I  get  enough  f  and  her  countenance,  that  the  cheering  co- 
incidence had  rendered  seraphic,  was  once  more  clouded 
with  doubt. 

"  Why,  you  have  yards  of  it." 

"  Yes,  but  mine  is  all  made  up  in  some  form  or  other, 
and  it  musses  one's  things  so  to  pick  them  to  pieces." 

"  So  it  does,  dear,"  replied  Lucy,  with  gentle  but  genuine 
feeling. 

"  It  would  only  be  for  one  night,  Lucy — I  should  not 
hurt  it,  love — you  would  not  like  to  fetch  down  your  Brus- 
sels point-scarf,  and  see  how  it  would  look,  would  you  ? 
We  need  not  cut  the  lace,  dear ;  we  could  tack  it  on  again 
the  next  morning :  you  are  not  so  particular  as  I  am — you 
look  well  in  any  thing." 

Lucy  was  soon  seated  denuding  herself  and  embellishing 
her  aunt.  The  latter  reclined  with  grace,  and  furthered  the 
work  by  smile  and  gesture. 

"You  don't  ask  me  about  the  skirmish  in  the  nursery." 

•"Their  squabbles  bore  me,  dear;  but  you  can  tell  me 
who  was  the  most  in  fault,  if  you  think  it  worth  while." 

"  Reginald,  then,  I  am  afraid  ;  but  it  is  not  the  poor  boy ; 
it  is  the  influence  of  the  stable-yard;  and  I  do  advise  and 
entreat  you  to  keep  him  out  of  it." 

"  Impossible,  my  dear ;  you  don't  know  boys.  The  stable 
is  their  paradise.  When  he  grows  older  his  father  must 
interfere ;  meantime,  let  us  talk  of  something  more  agree- 
able." 

"  Yes — you  shall  go  on  with  your  story.     You  had  got 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  15 

to  his  look  of  despair  when  your  papa  came  in  that  morn- 
ing." 

"  Oh !  I  have  no  time  for  any  body's  despair  just  now  ; 
I  can  think  of  nothing  but  this  detestable  gown.  Lucy,  I 
suspect  I  almost  wish  I  had  made  them  put  another  breadth 
into  the  skirt." 

"  Luncheon,  ma'am." 

Lucy  be<|P^  her  aunt  to  go  down  alone ;  she  would 
stay  and  work. 

"No,  you  must  come  to  luncheon:  there  is  a  dish  on 
purpose  for  you — stewed  eels." 

"  Eels ;  why,  I  abhor  them ;  I  think  they  are  water-ser- 
pents." 

"  Who  is  it  that  is  so  fond  of  them,  then  V 

"  It  is  you,  aunt." 

"  So  it  is.  I  thought  it  had  been  you.  Come,  you  must 
come  down,  whether  you  eat  any  thing  or  not.  I  like 
somebody  to  talk  to  me  while  I  am  eating,  and  I  had  an 
idea  just  now — it  is  gone — but  perhaps  it  will  come  back 
to  me :  it  was  about  this  abominable  gown.  Oh !  how  I 
wish  there  was  not  such  a  thing  as  dress  in  the  world! ! !" 

While  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  munching  water-snakes  with 
delicate  zeal,  and  Lucy  nibbling  cake,  came  a  letter.  Mrs. 
Bazalgette  read  it  with  heightening  color,  laid  it  down,  cast 
a  pitying  glance  on  Lucy,  and  said,  with  a  sigh,  "Poor 
girl!" 

Lucy  turned  a  little  pale.  "  Has  any  thing  happened  ?" 
she  faltered. 

"  Something  is  going  to  happen :  you  are  to  be  torn 
away  from  here,  where  you  are  so  happy — where  we  all 
love  you,  dear.  It  is  from  that  selfish  old  bachelor.  Lis- 
ten :  '  Dear  madam,  my  niece  Lucy  has  now  been  due  here 
three  days.  I  have  waited  to  see  whether  you  would  part 
with  her  without  being  dunned.  My  curiosity  on  that  point 
is  satisfied,  and  I  have  now  only  my  affection  to  consult, 
which  I  do  by  requesting  you  to  put  her  and  her  maid  into 
a  carriage  that  will  be  waiting  for  her  at  your  door  twenty- 


16          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

four  hours  after  you  receive  this  note.  I  have  the  honor  to 
be,  madam,'  an  old  brute ! ! 

"And  you  can  smile;  but  that  is  you  all  over;  you 
don't  care  a  straw  whether  you  are  happy  or  miserable." 

"Don't  If 

"  Not  you ;  you  will  leave  this,  where  you  are  a  little 
queen,  and  go  and  bury  yourself  three  months  with  that 
old  bachelor,  and  nobody  will  ever  gather^Mm  your  face 
that  you  are  bored  to  death ;  and  here  we  are  asked  to  the 
Cavendish's  next  Wednesday,  and  the  Hunt's  ball  on  Fri- 
day— you  are  such  a  lucky  girl — our  best  invitations  always 
drop  in  while  you  are  with  us — we  go  out  three  times  as 
often  during  your  months  as  at  other  times;  it  is  your 
good  fortune,  or  the  weather,  or  something." 

"  Dear  aunt,  this  was  your  own  arrangement  with  Uncle 
Fountain  :'I  used  to  be  six  months  with  each  in  turn  till 
you  insisted  on  its  being  three.  You  make  me  almost 
laugh,  both  you  and  Uncle  Fountain :  what  do  you  see  in 
me  worth  quarreling  for?" 

"  I  will  tell  you  what  he  sees,  a  good  little  spiritless 
thing—" 

"  I  am  larger  than  you,  dear." 

"  Yes,  in  body — that  he  can  make  a  slave  of — always 
ready  to  nurse  him  and  his  foe,  or  to  put  down  your  work 
and  to  take  up'his — to  play  at  his  vile  backgammon." 

"Piquet,  please." 

"Whore  is  the  difference? — to  share  his  desolation,  and 
take  half  his  blue  devils  on  your  own  shoulders,  till  he  will 
hyp  you  so  that  to  get  away  you  will  consent  to  many  into 
his  set — the  county  set — some  beggarly  old  family  that 
came  down  from  the  Conquest,  and  has  been  going  down 
ever  since :  so  then  he  will  let  you  fly — with  a  string :  you 
must  vegetate  two  miles  from  him;  so  then  he  can  have 
you  in  to  Backquette  and  write  his  letters:  he  will  settle 
four  hundred  a  year  on  you,  and  you  will  be  miserable  for 
life." 

"  Poor  Uncle  Fountain,  what  a  schemer  he  turns  out  1" 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE    ME   LONG.  17 

"  Men  all  turn  out  schemers  when  you  know  them,  Miss 
Impertinence.  Well,  dear,  I  have  no  selfish  views  for  you. 
I  love  my  few  friends  too  single-heartedly  for  that ;  but  I 
am  sad  when  I  see  you  leaving  us  to  go  where  you  are  not 
prized." 

"  Indeed,  aunt,  I  am  prized  at  Font  Abbey.  I  am  over- 
rated there  as  I  am  here.  They  all  receive  me  with  open 
arms."  4 

"  So  is  a  Bare  when  it  comes  into  a  trap,"  said  Mrs. 
Bazalgette,  sharply,  drawing  upon  a  limited  knowledge  of 
grammar  and  field-sports. 

"No — Uncle  Fountain  really  loves  me." 

"As  much  as  I  do?"  asked  the  lady,  with  a  treacherous 
smile. 

"Very  nearly,"  was  the  young  courtier's  reply.  She 
went  on  to  console  her  aunt's  unselfish  solicitude  by  assur- 
ing her  that  Font  Abbey  was  not  a  solitude ;  that  din- 
ners and  balls  abounded,  and  her  uncle  was  invited  to  them 
all. 

"You  little  goose,  don't  you  see?  all  those  invitations 
are  for  your  sake,  not  his :  if  we  could  look  in  on  him  now, 
we  should  find  him  literally  in  single  cursedness.  Those 
county  folks  are  not  without  cunning.  They  say  beauty 
has  come  to  stay  with  the  beast ;  we  must  ask  the  beast  to 
dinner,  so  then  beauty  will  come  along  with  him. 

"What  other  pleasure  awaits  you  at  Font  Abbey?" 

"  The  pleasure  of  giving  pleasure,"  replied  Lucy,  apolo- 
getically. 

"  Ah !  that  is  your  weakness,  Lucy :  it  is  all  very  well 
with  those  who  won't  take  advantage;  but  it  is  the  wrong 
game  to  play  with  all  the  world ;  you  will  be  made  a  tool 
of,  and  a  slave  of,  and  use  of.  I  speak  from  experience ; 
you  know  how  I  sacrifice  myself  to  those  I  love ;  luckily, 
they  are  not  many." 

"Not  so  many  as  love  you,  dear." 

"  Heaven  forbid !  but  you  are  at  the  head  of  them  all, 
and  I  am  going  to  prove  it — by  deeds,  not  words." 


18  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

Lucy  looked  up  at  this  additional  feature  in  her  aunt's 
affection. 

"  You  must  go  to  the  great  bear's  den  for  three  months, 
but  it  shall  be  the  last  time!"  Lucy  said  nothing. 

"  You  will  return  never  to  quit  us,  or,  at  all  events,  not 
the  neighborhood." 

"That — would  be — nice,"  said  the  courtier,  warmly, but 
hesitatingly ;  "  but  how  will  you  gain  uncle's  consent1?" 

"By  dispensing  with  it." 

"  Yes ;  but  the  means,  aunt  T' 

"A  husband!" 

Lucy  started  and  colored  all  over,  and  looked  askant  at 
her  aunt  with  opening  eyes  like  a  thorough-bred  filly  just 
going  to  start  all  across  the  road.  Mrs.  Bazalgette  laid  a 
loving  hand  on  her  shoulder,  and  whispered  knowingly  in 
her  ear,  "  Trust  to  me :  I'll  have  one  ready  for  you  against 
you  come  back  this  time." 

"No,  please  don't!  pray  don't!"  cried  Lucy,  clasping  her 
hands  in  feeble-minded  distress. 

"  In  this  neighborhood — one  of  the  right  sort." 

"  I  am  so  happy  as  I  am." 

"You  will  be  happier  when  you  are  quite  a  slave,  and  so 
1  shall  save  you  from  being  snapped  up  by  some  country 
wiseacre,  and  marry  you  into  our  own  set." 

"  Merchant  princes,"  suggested  Lucy,  demurely,  having 
just  recovered  her  breath  and  what  little  sauce  there  was 
in  her. 

"  Yes,  merchant  princes — the  men  of  the  age — the  men 
who  could  buy  all  the  acres  in  the  country  without  feeling 
it — the  men  who  make  this  little  island  great,  and  a  wom- 
an happy,  by  letting  her  have  every  thing  her  heart  can  de- 
sire." 

"  You  mean  every  thing  that  money  can  buy." 

"  Of  course.     I  said  so,  didn't  I  ?" 

"  So,  then,  you  are  tired  of  me  in  the  house "?"  remon- 
strated Lucy,  sadly. 

"  No,  ingrate ;  but  you  will  be  sure  to  marry  soon  or  late." 


LOVE   MB   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  19 

"  No,  I  will  not,  if  I  can  possibly  help  it." 

"But  you  can't  help  it;  you  are  not  the  character  to 
help  it.  The  first  man  that  comes  to  you  and  says,  '  I 
know  you  rather  dislike  me'  (you  could  not  hate  any  body, 
Lucy),  'but  if  you  don't  take  me  I  shall  die  of  a  broken 
fiddlestick,'  you  will  whine  out, '  Oh  dear !  shall  you  ?  Well, 
then,  sooner  than  disoblige  you,  here — take  me  !'  " 

"  Am  I  so  weak  as  this  ?"  asked  Lucy,  coloring,  and  the 
water  coming  into  her  eyes. 

"Don't  be  offended,"  said  the  other,  coolly;  "we  won't 
call  it  weakness,  but  excess  of  complaisance ;  you  can't  say 
no  to  any  body." 

"  Yet  I  have  said  it,"  replied  Lucy,  thoughtfully. 

"  Have  you  ?  When  ?  Oh  !  to  me.  Yes ;  where  I  am 
concerned  you  have  sometimes  a  will  of  your  own,  and  a 
pretty  stout  one ;  but  never  with  any  body  else." 

The  aunt  then  inquired  of  the  niece,  "  frankly  now,  be- 
tween ourselves,"  whether  she  had  no  wish  to  be  married. 
The  niece  informed  her  in  confidence  that  she  had  not,  and 
was  puzzled  to  conceive  how  the  bare  idea  of  marriage  came 
to  be  so  tempting  to  her  sex.  Of  course,  she  could  under- 
stand a  lady  wishing  to  marry,  if  she  loved  a  gentleman 
who  was  determined  to  be  unhappy  without  her ;  but  that 
women  should  look  about  for  some  hunter  to  catch  instead 
of  waiting  quietly  till  the  hunter  caught  them,  this  puzzled 
her;  and  as  for  the  superstitious  love  of  females  for  the 
marriage  rite  in  cases  when  it  took  away  their  liberty  and 
gave  them  nothing  amiable  in  return,  it  amazed  her.  "  So, 
aunt,"  she  concluded,  "  if  you  really  love  me,  driving  me  to 
the  altar  will  be  an  unfortunate  way  of  showing  it." 

While  listening  to  this  tirade,  which  the  young  lady  de- 
livq^ed  with  great  serenity,  and  concluded  with  a  little  yawn, 
Mrs.  Bazalgette  had  two  thoughts  :  the  first  was,  "  This  girl 
is  not  flesh  and  blood ;  she  is  made  of  curds  and  whey,  or 
something  else :"  the  second  was,  "  No,  she  is  a  shade  hypo- 
criticaler  than  other  girls — before  they  are  married,  that  is 
all ;"  and,  acting  on  this  latter  conviction,  she  smiled  a  lof- 


20  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

ty  incredulity,  and  fell  to  counting  on  her  fingers  all  the 
moneyed  bachelors  for  miles. 

At  this  Lucy  winced  with  sensitive  modesty,  and  for 
once  a  shade  of  vexation  showed  itself  on  her  lovely  fea- 
tures :  the  quick-sighted,  keen-witted  matron  caught  it,  and 
instantly  made  a  masterly  move  of  feigned  retreat.  "  No," 
cried  she,  "  I  will  not  tease  you  any  more,  love ;  just  prom- 
ise me  not  to  receive  any  gentleman's  addresses  at  Font 
Ahbey,  and  I  will  never  drive  you  from  my  arms  to  the 
altar." 

"  I  promise  that,"  cried  Lucy,  eagerly. 

"Upon  your  honor?" 

"  Upon  my  honor." 

"  Kiss  me,  dear.  I  know  you  won't  deceive  me  now  you 
have  pledged  your  honor.  This  solemn  promise  consoles 
me  more  than  you  can  conceive." 

"I  am  so  glad ;  but  if  you  knew  how  little  it  costs  me." 

"  All  the  better ;  you  will  be  more  likely  to  keep  it,"  was 
the  dry  reply. 

The  conversation  then  took  a  more  tender  turn.  And  so 
to-morrow  you  go !  How  dull  the  house  will  be  without 
you !  and  who  is  to  keep  my  brats  in  order  now  I  have  no 
idea.  Well,  there  is  nothing  but  meeting  and  parting  in 
this  world;  it  does  not  do  to  love  people,  does  it?  (ah!) 
Don't  cry,  love,  or  I  shall  give  way ;  my  desolate  heart  al- 
ready brims  over — no — now  don't  cry"  (a  little  sharply)  ; 
"the  servants  will  be  coming  in  to  take  away  the  things." 

"  Will  you  c — c — come  and  h — help  me  pack,  dear  ?" 

"Me,  love?  oh  no!  I  could  not  bear  the  sight  of  your 
things  put  out  to  go  away.  I  promised  to  call  on  Mrs. 
Hunt  this  afternoon;  and  you  must  not  stop  in  all  day 
yourself — I  can  not  let  your  health  be  sncrificcd ;  you  had 
better  take  a  brisk  walk,  and  pack  afterward." 

"  Thank  you,  aunt.  I  will  go  and  finish  my  drawing  of 
Harrowden  Church  to  take  with  me." 

"  No,  don't  go  there ;  the  meadows  are  wet.  Walk  upon 
the  Hatton  road ;  it  is  all  gravel." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          23 

best — well,  she  did  hers,  and  went  the  right  way  to 
work." 

"  You  see  I  survive." 

"  By  a  miracle.     Dinner  is  at  six." 

"  Very  well,  dear." 

"  Yes ;  but  six  in  this  house  means  sixty  minutes  after 
five  and  sixty  minutes  before  seven.  I  mention  this  the 
first  day  because  you  are  just  come  from  a  place  where  it 
means  twenty  minutes  to  seven ;  also  let  me  observe  that  I 
think  I  have  noticed  soup  and  potatoes  eat  better  hot  than 
cold,  and  meat  tastes  nicer  done  to  a  turn  than — " 

"To  a  cinder?" 

"  Ha !  ha !  and  come  with  an  appetite,  please." 

"  Uncle,  no  tyranny,  I  beg." 

"  Tyranny  ?  you  know  this  is  Liberty  Hall ;  only  when 
I  eat  I  expect  my  companion  to  eat  too ;  besides,  there  is 
nothing  to  be  gained  by  humbug  to-day.  There  will  be 
only  us  two  at  dinner ;  and  when  I  see  young  ladies  fiddling 
with  an  asparagus-head  instead  of  eating  their  dinner,  I 
don't  fall  into  the  greenhorn's  notion — exquisite  creature! 
all  soul !  no  stomach !  feeds  on  air,  idea*,  and  quadrille 
music — no ;  what  do  you  think  I  say1?" 

"  Something  flattering,  I  feel  sure." 

"On  the  contrary,  something  true.  I  say  hypocrite! 
Been  grubbing  like  a  pig  all  day,  so  can't  eat  like  a  Chris- 
tian at  meal-time  ;  you  can't  humbug  me." 

"Alas!  so  I  see.  That  decides  me  to  be  candid — and 
hungry." 

"Well,  I  am  off;  I  don't  stick  to  my  friends  and  bore 
them  with  my  affairs  like  that  egotistical  hussy  Jane  Ba- 
zalgette.  I  amuse  myself  and  leave  them  to  amuse  them- 
selves ;  that  is  my  notion  of  politeness.  I  am  going  to  see 
my  pigs  fed,  then  into  the  village.  I  am  building  a  new 
blacksmith's  shop  there  (you  must  come  and  look  at  it  the 
first  thing  to-morrow) ;  and  at  six,  if  you  want  to  find 
me — " 

"  I  shall  peep  behind  the  soup  tureen." 


24  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  And  there  I  shall  be,  if  I  am  alive." 

At  dinner  the  old  boy  threw  himself  into  the  work  with 
such  zeal  that,  soon  after  the  cloth  was  removed,  from  fa- 
tigue and  repletion,  he  dropped  asleep,  with  his  shoulder 
toward  Lucy,  but  his  face  instinctively  turned  toward  the 
fire.  Lucy  crept  away  on  tiptoe,  not  to  disturb  him. 

In  about  an  hour  he  bustled  into  the  drawing-room,  or- 
dered tea,  blew  up  the  footman  because  the  cook  had  not 
water  boiling  that  moment,  drank  three  cups,  then  bright- 
ened up,  rubbed  his  hands,  and  with  a  cheerful,  benevolent 
manner,  "  Now,  Lucy,"  cried  he,  "  come  and  help  me  puz- 
zle out  this  tiresome  genealogy." 

A  smile  of  warm  assent  from  Lucy,  and  the  old  bachelor 
and  the  blooming  Hebe  were  soon  seated  with  a  mountain 
of  parchments  by  their  side,  and  a  tree  spreading  before 
them. 

It  was  not  a  finite  tree  like  an  elm  or  an  oak ;  no,  it  was 
a  banyan  tree ;  covered  an  acre,  and  from  its  boughs  little 
suckers  dropped  to  earth,  and  turned  to  little  trees,  and  had 
suckers  in  their  turn,  and  "  confounded  the  confusion." 

Uncle  Fountain's  happiness  depended,  pro  tern.,  on  prov- 
ing that  he  was  a  sucker  from  the  great  bough  of  the  Fon- 
taines of  Melton ;  and  why  *?  Because,  this  effected,  he 
had  only  to  go  along  that  bough  by  an  established  pedigree 
to  the  great  trunk  of  the  Funteyns  of  Salle,  and  the  first 
Funteyn  of  Salle  was  said  to  be  (and  this  he  hoped  to 
prove  true)  great  grandson  of  Robert  de  Fontibus,  son  of 
•John  de  Fonte. 

Now  Uncle  Fountain  could  prove  himself  the  shoot  of 
George  his  father  (a  step  at  which  so  many  pedigrees  halt), 
who  was  the  shoot  of  William,  who  was  the  shoot  of  Rich- 
ard ;  but  here  came  a  gap  of  eighty  years  between  him  and 
that  Fountain,  younger  son  of  Melton,  to  whom  he  wanted 
to  hook  on.  Now  the  logic  of  women,  children,  and  criti- 
casters is  a  thing  of  gaps  ;  they  reason  as  marches  a  kanga- 
roo ;  but,  to  mathematicians,  logicians,  and  genealogists,  a 
link  wanting  is  a  chain  broken.  This  blank  then  mado 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  25 

Uncle  Fountain  miserable,  and  he  cried  out  for  help.  Lucy 
came  with  her  young  eyes,  her  woman's  patience,  and  her 
own  complaisance.  A  great  ditch  yawned  between  a  croch- 
eteer  and  a  rotten  branch  he  coveted.  Our  Quinta  Curtia 
flung  herself,  her  eyesight,  and  her  time  into  that  ditch. 

Twelve  o'clock  came,  and  found  them  still  wallowing  in 
modern  antiquity. 

"Bless  me!"  cried  Mr.  Fountain,  when  John  brought  up 
the  bed-candles,  "  how  time  flies  when  one  is  really  em- 
ployed." 

"  Yes,  indeed,  uncle ;"  and  by  a  gymnastic  of  courtesy  she 
first  crushed,  and  then  so  moulded  a  yawn  that  it  glided  into 
society  a  smile. 

"  We  have  spent  a  delightful  evening,  Lucy." 

"  Thanks  to  you,  uncle," 

"  I  hope  you  will  sleep  well,  child." 

"  I  am  sure  I  shall,  dear,"  said  she,  sweetly  and  inadver- 
tently. 


CHAPTER  H. 

A  LARGE  aspiration  is  a  rarity ;  but  who  has  not  some 
small  ambition,  none  the  less  keen  for  being  narrow — keener 
perhaps  ?  Mrs.  Bazalgette  burned  to  be  great  by  dress  ;  Mr. 
Fountain,  member  of  a  sex  with  higher  aims,  aspired  to  be 
great  in  the  county. 

Unluckily,  his  main  property  was  in  the  funds.  He  had 

acres  in shire,  but  so  few  that,  some  years  ago,  its  lord 

lieutenant  declined  to  make  him  an  injustice  of  the  peace  : 
that  functionary  died,  and  on  his  death  the  mortified  aspir- 
ant bought  a  coppice,  christened  it  Springwood,  and,  under 
cover  of  this  fringe  to  his  three  meadows,  applied  to  the  new 
lord  lieutenant  as  M'Duff  approached  M'Beth  :  the  new 
man  made  him  a  magistrate ;  so  now  he  aspired  to  be  a  dep- 
uty lieutenant,  and  attended  all  the  boards  of  magistrates, 
and  turnpike  trusts,  etc.,  and  brought  up  votes  and  beer- 

B 


26 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 


barrels  at  each  election,  and,  in  short,  played  all  the  cards 
in  his  pack,  Lucy  included,  to  earn  that  distinction. 

We  may  as  well  confess  that  there  lurked  in  him  a  half 
unconscious  hope  that  some  day  or  other,  in  some  strange 
collision  or  combination  of  parties,  a  man  profound  in  coun- 
ty business,  zealous  in  county  interests,  personally  obnox- 
ious to  nobody,  might  drop  into  the  seat  of  county  member; 
and,  if  this  should  be,  would  not  he  have  the  sense  to  hold 
his  tongue  upon  the  noisy  questions  that  waste  Parliament's 
time,  and  the  nation's ;  but,  on  the  first  of  those  periodical 
attacks  to  which  the  wretched  landowner  is  subject,  wouldn't 
he  speak,  and  show  the  difference  between  a  mere  member 
of  the  Commons  and  a  member  for  the  county  1 

If  any  one  had  asked  this  man  plump  which  is  the  most 

important,  England  or shire,  he  would  have  certainly 

told  you  England ;  but  our  opinions  are  not  the  notions  we 
repeat,  and  can  defend  by  reasons  or  even  by  facts:  our 
opinions  are  the  notions  we  feel  and  act  on.  Could  you 
have  looked  inside  Mr.  Fountain's  head,  you  would  have 
seen  ideas  corresponding  to  the  following  diagrams : 


The  World  at  large. 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  27 

Mr.  Fountain  courted  the  stomach  of  the  county. 

Without  this,  he  knew,  an  angel  could  not  reach  its  heart ; 
and  here  one  of  his  eccentricities  broke  out.  He  drew  a 
line  in  his  dictatorial  way  between  dinner  and  feeding  par- 
ties. "A  dinner-party  is  two  rubbers.  Four  gentlemen 
and  four  ladies  sit  round  a  circular  table ;  then  each  can 
hear  what  any  one  says,  and  need  not  twist  the  neck  at 
every  word.  Foraging  parties  are  from  fourteen  to  thirty, 
set  up  and  down  a  plank,  each  separated  from  those  he  could 
talk  to  as  effectually  as  if  the  ocean  rolled  between,  and 
bawling  into  one  person's  ear  amid  the  din  of  knives,  forks, 
and  multitude.  I  go  to  those  long  strings  of  noisy  duets 
because  I  must,  but  I  give  society  at  home." 

The  county  people  had  just  strength  of  mind  to  like  the 
old  boy's  sociable  dinners,  though  not  to  imitate  them,  and 
an  invitation  from  him  was  very  rarely  declined  when  Lucy 
was  with  him. 

And  she  was  in  her  glory.  She  could  carry  complaisance 
such  a  long  way  at  Font  Abbey — she  was  mistress  of  the 
house. 

She  listened  with  a  wonderful  appearance  of  interest  to 
county  matters,  i.  e.,  to  minute  scandal  and  infinitesimal 
politics ;  to  the  county  cricket-match  and  archery  meeting ; 
to  the  past  ball  and  the  ball  to  come.  In  the  drawing- 
room,  when  a  cold  fit  fell  on  the  cotorie,  she  would  glide  to 
one  egotist  after  another,  find  out  the  monotope,  and  set  the 
critter  off  on  it.  Then  might  you  see  beings  of  straw  kindle 
and  emit  sparks  of  small  talk  as  this  torch  went  round  and 
touched  them. 

One  day  old  Fountain  said  to  his  niece  with  a  good-hu- 
mored sneer,  "  I  have  found  out  why  you  are  such  a  favor- 
ite, Lucy :  you  have  not  got  a  wish  or  an  opinion  of  your 
own  upon  any  earthly  thing.  You  are  a  mirror — a  regular 
looking-glass,  in  a  handsome  frame,  upon  my  honor — haw ! 
haw !  haw !  But  never  mind — a  mirror  is  more  attractive 
than  a  magnet :  see  how  they  all  sidle  up  to  mine ;  and  so 
they  do  to  you,  and  always  will,  wherever  you  go."  Lucy 


28  LOVE    ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

smiled,  but  a  red  flush  flitted  across  her  brow.  She  bowed 
over  her  work,  and  made  no  reply. 

Uncle  Fountain  chuckled.  He  prided  himself  on  his  per- 
fect insight  into  people's  characters.  He  was  one  of  those 
who  can  tell  the  exact  depth  of  the  Atlantic  with  a  ten- 
fathom  line. 

Lucy  was  finishing  her  answer  to  Airs.  Bazalgette's  letter 
that  lay  on  the  table  :  that  lady's  postscript  ran  thus :  "Any 
wooer  yet — upon  your  honor  ?" 

She  had  hardly  time  to  fold  her  letter  before  her  uncle 
wanted  her  to  write  five  invitations  to  dinner.  She  was 
immediately  at  his  service,  and  out  of  the  business  arose  the 
following  dialogue: 

"And  who  is  to  be  the  eighth?" 

"  Oh,  Talboys." 

"  No,  uncle,  not  Mr.  Talboys." 

"Not  Mr.  Talboys?  Why,  what  earthly  objection  can 
you  have  to  him  T'  said  Mr.  Fountain,  almost  roughly. 

"I?  None  whatever;  only  you  never  invite  the  same 
person  twice  running,  and  Mr.  Talboys  dined  here  last  time ; 
at  least  I  think  so ;  let  me  examine  my  book — yes — why, 
he  dined  here  not  only  last  time,  but  the  time  before.  Whom 
shall  we  substitute  ?  Three  times  running  is  too  great  a 
distinction  for  any  mere  mortal." 

"  Mr.  Talboys,"  replied  the  other,  gravely,  "  is  one  of 
those  who  confer  distinction  on  his  entertainer;  he  can 
hardly  receive  it." 

Lucy  opened  her  eyes.     "  Why,  what  has  he  done  1" 

"  He  is  the  oldest  family  in  the  county,  that  is  all,"  re- 
plied Fountain,  with  tremendous  irony. 

"  Older  than  yours — than  ours  ?" 

"  Older  than  ours,"  said  her  uncle,  firmly  and  solemnly. 
"The  Talboys  came  in  with  the  Conqueror — Robert  do 
Fonte  lived  in  Henry  the  Third's  reign  only." 

"Apropos,  where  has  Mr.  Talboys  been  all  this  time, 
that  I  never  met  him  here  before  this  visit  ?" 

"  He  was  doing  what  his  ancestors  have  done  for  three 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.  29 

hundred  years  past.  On  attaining  his  majority,  he  made  a 
three  years'  tour  of  Europe  to  rub  off  his  English  preju- 
dices ;  he  has  returned  the  accomplished  gentleman  you  see 
him." 

"  Mr.  Talboys  dresses  in  good  taste,  and  carries  himself 
very  tolerably,"  said  Lucy,  whose  cue  it  now  was  to  see  the 
gentleman's  good  qualities;  "still,  three  times  running! 
Consider  the  many  competitors  for  a  seat  at  your  board." 

"  My  table,  please,  the  only  one  in  the  county  that  is  not 
a  board.  Never  mind,  Lucy ;  so  long  as  Talboys  does  us 
the  honor  to  come,  we  will  make  him  welcome;  and,  by 
the  way,  I  want  you  to  pay  him  a  little  more  attention." 

"  Dear  uncle,  have  I  been  so  thoughtless  as  to  neglect 
any  guest  of  yours  ?" 

"  No,  my  dear,  you  are  the  pink  of  courtesy ;  but  Talboys 
is  a  little  reserved — a  man  of  singular  delicacy ;  he  wants 
drawing  out ;  but  he  has  been  in  all  the  courts  of  Europe, 
and  there  are  treasures  of  good  sense  and  knowledge  in  him, 
if  you  will  but  dig  for  them — ay,  and  of  feeling,  too." 

"  Of  feeling  t     Are  you  sure,  uncle  f 

"Positive:  he  has  the  highest  opinion  of  you." 

"Indeed?     He  never  gave  me  any  reason  to  think  so." 

"  He  has  me,  though,  which  is  more  to  the  point." 

"Is  it?" 

"  And,  by-the-by,"  said  the  old  boy,  slyly,  "  that  reminds 
me  I  have  a  note  from  him  in  my  pocket  in  which  you  are 
concerned  :  there  it  is.  Talking  of  notes,  I  had  better  ring 
and  send  your  letter  down,  or  it  will  be  too  late  for  the  post. 
Well,  what  is  the  matter  ?  You  are  as  red  as  fire — ha  ! 
ha!" 

"  Oh,  uncle !  now,  how  kind  of  Mr.  Talboys — how  very 
kind! 

"  '  Your  niece  mentioned  the  other  evening  that  she  was 
fond  of  riding,  but  that  your  hunters  are  too  hot  for  a  lady 
to  manage.  There  is  an  animal  here  that  perhaps  may  suit 
her — a  quiet  galloway' — oh,  uncle ! — '  with  tolerable  paces. 
I  send  him  over  to  you  with  his  side-saddle'— oh,  uncle — 


30  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

1  and  shall  feel  flattered  if  Miss  Fountain  will  do  him  the 
honor  to  ride  him,  f ante  de  mieux!  Is  not  that  kind  of  Mr. 
Talboys  1  so  considerate  too.  How  one  may  be  mistaken  !" 

"  In  what  ?"  cried  Fountain,  with  eager  expectation. 

"  I  took  him  for  a  well-bred  nullity." 

"  Well,  now,  you  see  he  is  nothing  of  the  kind." 

"  Oh  no.  A  quiet  galloway !  I  will  make  up  for  my 
injustice  when  he  dines  here.  I  was  to  invite  Mr.  Talboys, 
was  I  not?" 

"  Of  course." 

Lucy  drew  the  note-paper  to  her,  and,  while  she  was  writ- 
ing Mr.  Talboys  in  the  usual  form,  but  with  a  grateful  smile 
dimpling  her  glowing  cheek,  John  answered  the  bell,  and 
Mr.  Fountain  sent  off  her  letter  to  Mrs.  Bazalgette. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  got  the  letter  in  due  course,  and  pounced 
like  an  eagle  on  the  postscript  first.  It  ran  thus:  "No 
wooer — upon  my  honor." 

Her  eye  twinkled  with  exultation  and  small  treachery. 

That  very  afternoon,  for  the  second  time  this  month,  she 
dispatched  a  perfumed  note  to  Mr.  Hardie. 

Mr.  Hardie  was  only  son  of  the  greatest  banker  in  the 
great  commercial  city  near  which  the  Bazalgettes  lived. 
The  lady's  reasons  for  courting  him  so  ran  thus,  on  the  as- 
ecending  scale :  he  is  thirty — he  is  a  bachelor — his  father  is 
just  dead. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

LUCY  received  Mr.  Talboys  graciously,  but  reserved  the 
pony  for  the  drawing-room.  There  she  thanked  him  with 
a  world  of  grace ;  and,  indeed,  the  nag  and  his  paces  were 
a  fruitful  theme,  to  which  she  returned  by  skillful  detours 
when  all  else  flagged.  Next,  in  compliance  with  her  uncle's 
request,  she  dug  for  this  gentleman's  treasures.  Hitherto 
he  had  not  appeared  to  her  what  my  Lord  Bacon  calls  "  a 
full  man,"  for  which  she  blamed  herself.  "  I  have  not  given 


LOVE   HE    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  31 

him  a  fair  chance.  He  is  a  great  traveler;  I  ought  to  have 
showed  more  curiosity  about  the  countries  he  has  visited, 
the  customs,  the  buildings,  the  works  of  art,  the  costumes, 
the — oh,  how  I  should  love  to  travel !" 

So  now  she  did  question  him  with  a  warm  and  courteous 
curiosity,  and  so  plied  him  that  the  other  ladies  by  degrees 
came  gliding  up  one  by  one,  serpent-like,  with  genuine  cu- 
riosity and  most  seeming  nonchalance,  and  Mr.  Talboys  was 
the  centre  of  a  circle  of  bright  eyes.  Miss  Fountain  still 
plied  him,  and  the  others  listened  to  him  with  undisguised 
deference,  and  a  marked  prejudice  in  favor  of  every  word  he 
could  utter. 

The  gentleman  saw  this,  and,  instead  of  warming  at  his 
hearers,  and  fighting  hard  against  his  natural  coldness  of 
temperament  and  faintness  of  perception,  he  fell  into  the 
quaint  error  of  icing  his  milk  and  water.  Most  superfluous 
congelation!  Talboys  had  really  sauntered  Europe  round 
with  a  mind  cased  in  non-conductors.  To  him,  nothing  in 
all  the  countries  he  had  visited  had  seemed  very  beautiful 
or  very  curious,  and  why?  To  admire,  a  man  must  appre- 
ciate ;  and  the  power  of  appreciating  on  a  large  scale  is  too 
much  akin  to  genius  to  be  common.  Glowing  descriptions 
from  such  a  quarter  as  this  were  out  of  the  question :  to 
describe  loftily,  you  must  have  admired  humbly. 

The  quiet  and  well-bred,  but  genuine  enthusiasm  with 
which  Lucy  addressed  the  great  traveler  extracted  cold  mon- 
osyllables— little  clots  of  indifference.  She  felt  like  chip- 
ping an  iceberg.  Still  she  persisted,  and  vanity  fired  the 
little  heart  that  the  Alps  from  the  Jurat,  the  Lake  of  Thun, 
the  Bay  of  Naples,  the  Yung  Frau,  the  wreck  of  the  Par- 
thenon, St.  Peter's,  the  Place  de  Concorde,  the  Square  of  St. 
Mark,  Versailles,  the  Alhambra,  the  Apollo  Belvidefe,  the 
Madonna  of  the  Chair,  and  all  the  glories  of  nature  and  the 
feats  of  art  could  not  warm.  So,  then,  the  fine  gentleman 
began  to  act — to  walk  himself  out  as  a  person  who  had  seen 
and  could  give  details  about  any  thing,  but  was  exalted  far 
above  admiring  any  thing  (quel  grand  homme  !  rien  ne  peut 


32  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

lui  plaire  !) ;  and  on  this,  while  the  women  were  gazing 
sweetly  on  him,  and  revering  his  superiority  to  all  great 
impressions,  and  the  men  envying,  rather  hating,  but  secret- 
ly admiring  him  too,  she  who  had  launched  him  bent  on 
him  a  look  of  soft  pity,  and  abandoned  him  to  admiration. 

"  Poor  Mr.  Talboys,"  thought  she,  "  I  fear  I  have  done 
him  an  ill  turn  by  drawing  him  out;"  and  she  glided  tc 
her  uncle,  who  was  sitting  apart,  and  nobody  talking  to 
him. 

Mr.  Talboys,  started  by  Lucy,  ambled  out  his  high-pacing 
nil  admirantem  character,  and  derived  a  little  quiet  self-satis- 
faction. This  was  the  highest  happiness  he  was  capable  of; 
so  he  was  not  ungrateful  to  Miss  Fountain,  who  had  pro- 
cured it  him,  and  partly  for  this,  partly  because  he  had  been 
kind  to  her  and  lent  her  a  pony,  he  shook  hands  with  her 
somewhat  cordially  at  parting.  As  it  happened,  he  was  the 
last  guest. 

"  You  have  won  that  man's  heart,  Lucy,"  cried  Mr.  Fount- 
ain, with  a  mixture  of  surprise  and  pride. 

Lucy  made  no  reply.  She  looked  quickly  into  his  face 
to  see  if  he  was  jesting. 

"  Writing,  Lucy — so  late  ?" 

"  Only  a  few  lines,  uncle.  You  shall  see  them :  I  note 
the  more  remarkable  phenomena  of  society.  I  am  recalling 
a  conversation  between  three  of  our  guests  this  evening,  and 
shall  be  grateful  for  your  opinion  on  it.  There !  Read  it 
out,  please." 

Mrs.  Luttrell.  "  Wo  missed  you  at  the  archery  meeting — 
ha!  ha!  ha!" 

Mrs.  Willis.  "  Mr.  Willis  would  not  let  me  go— he !  he ! 
he!" 

Mrs.  James.  "Well,  at  all  events — he!  he! — you  will 
come  to  the  flower-show." 

Mrs.  Willis.  "  Oh  yes ! — he !  he ! — I  am  so  fond  of  flow- 
ers—ha! hal" 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  S3 

Mrs.  Luttrell,  "  So  am  I.     I  adore  them — he  !  he !" 
Mrs.  Willis.  "  How  sweetly  Miss  Malcolm  sings — he !  he !" 
Mrs. Luttrell.  "Yes,  she  shakes  like  a  bird — ha!  ha!" 
Mrs.  James.  "  A  little  Scotch  accent  though — he !  he !" 
Mrs.  Luttrell.  "  She  is  Scotch— he !  he !"    (To  John  offer- 
ing her  tea.)     "No  more,  thank  you — he!  he!" 

Mrs.  James.  "  Shall  you  go  the  Assize  sermon? — ha !  ha !" 
Mrs.  Willis.  "  Oh  yes — he !  he ! — the  last  was  very  dry 
— he !  he !     "Who  preaches  it  this  term  ? — he !" 
Mrs.  James.  "  The  Bishop — he !  he !" 
Mrs.  Willis.  "Then  I  shall  certainly  go:  he  is  such  a 
dear  preacher — he !  he !" 

"Just  tell  me  what  is  the  precise  meaning  of 'ha!  ha!' 
and  what  of 'he!  he!'" 

"The  precise  meaning?     There  you  puzzle  me,  uncle.1" 

"  I  mean,  what  do  you  mean  by  them  ?" 

"  Oh !  I  put '  ha !  ha !'  when  they  giggled,  and  *  he !  he !' 
when  they  only  chuckled." 

"Then  this  is  a  caricature,  my  lady?" 

"  No,  dear,  you  know  I  have  no  satire  in  me ;  it  is  taken 
down  to  the  letter,  and  I  fear  I  must  trouble  you  for  tfoj 
solution." 

"  Well,  the  solution  is,  they  are  three  fools." 

"  No,  uncle,  begging  your  pardon,  they  are  not,"  replied 
Lucy,  politely  but  firmly. 

"  Well,  then,  three  d— d  fools." 

Lucy  winced  at  the  participle,  but  was  too  polite  to  lec- 
ture her  elder.  "They  have  not  that  excuse,"  said  she; 
"  they  are  all  sensible  women,  who  discharge  the  duties  of 
life  with  discretion  except  society ;  and  they  can  discrimin- 
ate between  grave  and  gay  whenever  they  are  not  at  a  par- 
ty ;  and  as  for  Mrs.  Luttrell,  when  she  is  alone  with  me 
she  is  a  sweet,  natural  love." 

"  They  cackled — at  every  word — like  that — the  whole 
evening !  !  ?  1" 

"Except  when  you  told  that  funny  story  about  the  Irish 
B2 


34  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG. 

corporal  who  was  attacked  by  a  mastiff,  and  killed  him  with 
his  halbert,  and  when  he  was  reproached  by  his  captain  for 
not  being  content  to  repel  so  valuable  an  animal  with  tho 
butt-end  of  his  lance,  answered — ha  !  ha!" 

"  So  then  he  answered  '  Haw !  haw !'  did  he?" 

"  Now,  uncle !  No ;  he  answered, '  So  I  would,  your  arnr, 
if  he  had  run  at  me  with  his  tail !'  Now  that  was  genuine 
wit,  mixed  with  quite  enough  fun  to  make  an  intelligent 
person  laugh ;  and  then  you  told  it  so  drolly — ha !  ha  !"• 

"They  did  not  laugh  at  thatf' 

"  Sat  as  grave  as  judges." 

"  And  you  tell  me  they  are  not  fools." 

"  I  must  repeat,  they  have  not  that  excuse.  Perhaps 
their  risibility  had  been  exhausted.  After  laughing  three 
hours  a  propos  de  rien,  it  is  time  to  be  serious  out  of  place. 
I  will  tell  you  what  they  did  laugh  at,  though — Miss  Mal- 
colm sang  a  song  with  a  title  I  dare  not  attempt.  There 
were  two  lines  in  it  which  I  am  going  to  mispronounce ; 
but  you  are  not  Scotch,  so  I  don't  care  for  you,  uncle, 
darling. 

"  '  He  had  but  a  saxpence :  he  break  it  in  twa, 
And  he  gave  me  the  half  o't  when  he  gaed  awa.' 

They  laughed  at  that :  a  general  giggle  went  round." 

"  Well,  I  must  confess,  I  don't  see  much  to  laugh  at  in 
that,  Lucy." 

"  It  would  be  odd  if  you  did,  uncle,  dear ;  why,  it  is  pa- 
thetic." 

"Pathetic?     Oh!  is  it?" 

"You  naughty,  cunning  uncle,  you  know  it  is — it  is  pa- 
thetic, and  almost  heroic.  Consider,  dear :  in  a  world  where 
the  very  newspapers  show  how  mercenary  we  all  are,  a  poor 
young  man  is  parted  from  his  love :  he  has  but  one  coin  to 
go  through  the  world  with,  and  what  docs  he  do  with  it? 
Scheme  to  make  the  sixpence  a  crown,  and  to  make  the 
crown  a  pound "?  No ;  he  breaks  this  one  treasure  in  two, 
that  both  the  poor  things  may  have  a  silver  token  of  love 
and  a  pledge  of  his  return.  I  am  sure,  if  the  poet  had  been 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  35 

here,  he  would  have  been  quite  angry  with  us  for  laughing 
at  that  line." 

"  Keep  your  temper.  Why,  this  is  new  from  you,  Lucy , 
but  you  women  of  sugar  can  all  cauterize  your  own  sex ; 
the  theme  inspires  you." 

"  Uncle,  how  dare  you !  Are  you  not  afraid  I  shall  be 
angry  one  of  these  days,  dear!  !  ?  The  gentlemen  were 
equally  concerned  in  this  last  enormity.  Poor  Jemmy,  or 
Jammy,  with  his  devotion  and  tenderness  that  soothed,  and 
his  high  spirit  that  supported  the  weaker  vessel,  was  as 
funny  to  our  male  as  to  our  female  guests — so  there.  I 
saw  but  one  that  understood  him,  and  did  not  laugh  at 
him." 

"Talboys,  for  a  pound." 

"  Mr.  Talboys "?  no !  You,  dear  uncle ;  you  did  not  laugh ; 
I  noticed  it  with  all  a  niece's  pride." 

"Of  course  I  didn't.  Can  I  hear  a  word  these  ladies 
mew  1  can  I  tell  in  what  language  even  they  are  whining 
and  miauling  ?  I  have  given  up  trying  this  twenty  years 
and  more." 

"I  return  to  my  question,"  said  Lucy,  hastily. 

"  And  I  to  my  solution ;  your  three  graces  are  three 
d — d  fools.  If  you  can  account  for  it  in  any  other  way,  do." 

"  No,  uncle  dear :  if  you  had  happened  to  agree  with  me 
beforehand,  I  would ;  but  as  you  do  not,  I  beg  to  be  excused. 
But  keep  the  paper,  and  the  next  time  listen  to  the  talk 
and  unmeaning  laughter ;  you  will  find  I  have  not  exag- 
gerated, and  some  day,  dear,  I  will  tell  you  how  my  mam- 
ma used  to  account  for  similar  monstrosities  in  society." 

"  Here  is  a  mysterious  little  toad.  Well,  Lucy,  for  all 
this  you  enjoyed  yourself.  I  never  saw  you  in  better  spir- 
its." 

"  I  am  glad  you  saw  that,"  said  Lucy,  with  a  languid 
smile. 

"  And  how  Talboys  came  out." 

"  He  did,"  sighed  Lucy. 

Here  the  young  lady  lighted  softly  on  an  ottoman,  and 


36  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

sank  gracefully  back  with  a  weary-o' -the- world  air;  and 
when  she  had  settled  down  like  so  much  floss  silk,  fixing 
her  eyes  on  the  ceiling,  and  doling  her  words  out  languidly 
yet  thoughtfully — just  above  a  whisper,  "  Uncle,  darling," 
inquired  she,  "  where  are  the  men  we  have  all  heard  of?" 

"  How  should  I  know  ?     What  men  ?" 

"  Where  are  the  men  of  sentiment,  that  can  understand 
a  woman,  and  win  her  to  reveal  her  real  heart,  the  best 
treasure  she  has,  uncle  dear  ?"  She  paused  for  a  reply : 
none  coming,  she  continued  with  decreasing  energy : 

"  Where  are  the  men  of  spirit  ?  the  men  of  action  ?  the 
upright,  downright  men,  that  Heaven  sends  to  cure  us  of 
our  disingenuousness  1  Where  are  the  heroes  and  the 
wits?"  (an  infinitesimal  yawn)  ;  "  where  are  the  real  men? 
And  where  are  the  women  to  whom  such  men  can  do  hom- 
age without  degrading  themselves  ?  where  are  the  men  who 
elevate  a  woman  without  making  her  masculine,  and  the 
women  who  can  brighten  and  polish,  and  yet  not  soften  the 
steel  of  manhood — tell  me,  tell  me  instantly,"  said  she,  with 
still  greater  languor  and  want  of  earnestness,  and  her  eyes 
remained  fixed  on  the  ceiling  in  deep  abstraction. 

"They  are  all  in  this  house  at  this  moment,"  said  Mr. 
Fountain,  coolly. 

"  Who,  dear?  I  fear  I  was  not  attending  to  you.  How 
rude!  !" 

"  Horrid.  I  say  the  men  and  women  you  inquire  for  are 
all  in  this  house  of  mine ;"  and  the  old  gentleman's  eyes 
twinkled. 

" Uncle !  Heaven  forgive  you,  and — oh  fie!" 

"They  are,  upon  my  soul." 

"  Then  they  must  be  in  some  part  of  it  I  have  not  visit- 
ed. Are  they  in  the  kitchen  ?"  (with  a  little  saucy  sneer.) 

l(  No,  they  are  in  the  library." 

"  In  the  lib —     Ah !  le  malin !" 

"  They  were  never  seen  in  a  drawing-room,  and  never 
will  be." 

"  Yet  surely  they  must  have  lived  in  nature  before  they 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  37 

were  embalmed  in  print,"  said  Lucy,  interrogating  the  ceil- 
ing again. 

"  The  nearest  approach  you  will  meet  to  these  paragons 
is  Reginald  Talboys,"  said  Fountain,  stoutly. 

"  Uncle,  I  do  love  you ;"  and  Lucy  rose  with  Juno-like 
slowness  and  dignity,  and,  leaning  over  the  old  boy,  kissed 
him  with  sudden  small  fury. 

"  Why  f  asked  he,  eagerly,  connecting  this  majestic  squirt 
of  affection  with  his  last  speech. 

"  Because  you  are  such  a  nice,  dear,  sarcastic  thing.  Let 
us  drink  tea  in  the  library  to-morrow,  then  that  will  be  an 
approach  to—" 

With  this  illegitimate  full  stop  the  conversation  ended, 
and  Miss  Fountain  took  a  candle  and  sauntered  to  bed. 

In  church  next  Sunday  Lucy  observed  a  young  lady  with 
a  beaming  face,  who  eyed  her  by  stealth  in  all  the  inter- 
stices of  devotion.  She  asked  her  uncle  who  was  that 
pretty  girl  with  a  nez  retrousse. 

"  A  cocked  nose  ?  It  must  be  my  little  friend,  Eve  Dodd. 
I  didn't  know  she  was  come  back." 

"What  a  pretty  face  to  be  in  such — such  a — such  an 
impossible  bonnet.  It  has  come  down  from  another  epoch." 
This  not  maliciously,  but  with  a  sort  of  tender,  womanly 
concern  for  beauty  set  off  to  the  most  disadvantage. 

"  Oh,  hang  her  bonnet !  She  is  full  of  fun ;  she  shall 
drink  tea  with  us ;  she  is  a  great  favorite  of  mine." 

They  quickened  their  pace,  and  caught  Eve  Dodd  just  as 
she  took  a  flying  leap  over  some  water  that  lay  in  her  path, 
and  showed  a  charming  ankle.  In  those  days  female  dress 
committed  two  errors  that  are  disappearing:  it  revealed 
the  whole  foot  by  day,  and  hid  a  section  of  the  bosom  at 
night. 

After  the  usual  greetings,  Mr.  Fountain  asked  Eve  if  she 
would  come  over  and  drink  tea  with  him  and  his  niece. 

Miss  Dodd  colored  and  cast  a  glance  of  undisguised  ad- 
miration at  Miss  Fountain,  but  she  said,  "  Thank  you,  sir ; 


38  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG. 

J  am  much  obliged,  but  I  am  afraid  I  can't  come.  My 
brother  would  miss  me." 

"What — the  sailor?     Is  he  at  home?" 

"Yes,  sir;  came  home  last  night;"  and  she  clapped  her 
hands  by  way  of  comment.  "  He  has  been  with  my  mother 
all  church-time ;  so  now  it  is  my  turn,  and  I  don't  know 
how  to  let  him  out  of  my  sight  yet  a  while."  And  she 
gave  a  glance  at  Miss  Fountain,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  You 
understand." 

"Well,  Eve,"  said  Mr.  Fountain,  good-humoredly,  "we 
must  not  separate  brother  and  sister,"  and  he  was  turning 
to  go. 

"  Perhaps,  uncle,"  said  Lucy,  looking  not  at  Mr.  Fount- 
ain, but  at  Eve,  "  Mi-. — Mr. — " 

"  David  Dodd  is  my  brother's  name,"  said  Eve,  quickly. 

"Mr.  David  Dodd  might  be  persuaded  to  give  us  the 
pleasure  of  his  company  too." 

"Oh,  yes,  if  I  may  bring  dear  David  with  me,"  burst  out 
the  child  of  nature,  coloring  again  with  pleasure. 

"  It  will  add  to  the  obligation,"  said  Lucy,  finishing  the 
sentence  in  character. 

"  So  that  is  settled,"  said  Mr.  Fountain,  somewhat  dryly. 

As  they  were  walking  home  together,  the  courtier  asked 
her  uncle  rather  coldly,  "  Who  are  these  we  have  invited, 
dear?" 

"  Who  are  they  ?  A  pretty  girl  and  a  man  she  wouldn't 
come  without." 

"And  who  is  the  gentleman?     What  is  he?" 

"  A  marine  animal — first  mate  of  a  ship." 

"  First  mate  ?  mate  ?  Is  that  what  in  the  novels  is  called 
boatswain's  mate  ?" 

"  Haw !  haw !  haw !  I  say,  Lucy,  ask  him  when  he 
comes  if  he  is  the  bosen's  mate.  How  little  Eve  will  blaze !" 

"  Then  I  shall  ask  him  nothing  of  the  kind.  Do  tell  me ! 
I  know  admirals — they  swear — and  captains,  and,  I  think, 
lieutenants,  and,  above  all,  those  little  loves  of  midshipmen, 
strutting  with  their  dirks  and  cocked  hats,  like  warlike  ban- 
tams, but  I  never  met  '  mates.'  Mates?" 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  39 

"  That  is  because  you  have  only  been  introduced  to  the 
Royal  Navy ;  but  there  is  another  navy  not  so  ornamental, 
but  quite  as  useful,  called  the  East  India  Company's." 

"  I  am  ashamed  to  say  I  never  heard  of  it." 

"I  dare  say  not.  "Well,  in  this  navy  there  are  only  two 
kinds  of  superior  officers — the  mates  and  the  captain.  There 
are  five  or  six  mates.  Young  Dodd  has  been  first  mate 
some  time,  so  I  suppose  he  will  soon  be  a  captain." 

"Uncle!" 

"Well." 

"  Will  this — mate — swear  ?' 

"  Clearly." 

"There,  now.  I  do  not  like  swearing  on  a  Sunday. 
That  wicked  old  admiral  used  to  make  me  shudder." 

"  Oh,"  said  Mr.  Fountain,  playing  upon  innocence,  "  he 
swore  by  the  Supreme  Being,  'I  bet  sixpence.'  " 

"Yes,"  said  Lucy,  in  a  low,  soft  voice  of  angelic  regret. 

"  Ah !  he  was  in  the  Royal  Navy.  But  this  is  a  mer- 
chant-man ;  you  don't  think  he  will  presume  to  break  into 
the  monopoly  of  the  superior  branch.  He  will  only  swear 
by  the  wind  and  the  weather.  Thunder  and  squalls !  Don- 
ner  and  blitzen !  Handspikes  and  halyards !  these  are  the 
innocent  execrations  of  the  merchant  service — he!  he!  ho!" 

"Uncle,  can  you  be  serious?"  asked  Lucy,  somewhat 
coldly ;  "  if  so,  be  so  good  as  to  tell  me,  is  this  gentleman 
— a — gentleman  T' 

"Well,"  replied  the  other,  coolly,  "he  is  what  I  call  a 
nondescript :  like  an  attorney,  or  a  surgeon,  or  a  civil-en- 
gineer, or  a  banker,  or  a  stock-broker,  and  all  that  sort  of 
people.  He  can  be  a  gentleman  if  he  is  thoroughly  bent  on 
it ;  you  would  in  his  place,  and  so  should  I ;  but  these  skip- 
pers don't  turn  their  mind  that  way.  Old  families  don't  go 
into  the  merchant  service.  Indeed,  it  would  not  answer. 
There  they  rise  by — by — mere  maritime  considerations." 

"Then,  uncle,"  began  Lucy,  with  dignified  severity, 
"  permit  me  to  say  that  in  inviting  a  nondescript,  you 
showed — less  consideration  for  me  than — you — are  in  the 
habit — of  doing,  dearest." 


40  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  "Well,  have  a  headache,  and  can't  come  down." 

"  So  I  certainly  should ;  but,  most  unfortunately,  I  have 
an  objection  to  tell  fibs  on  a  Sunday." 

"  You  are  quite  right ;  we  should  rest  from  our  usual 
employments  one  day — ha !  ha !  and  so  go  at  it  fresher  to- 
morrow— haw !  ho !  Come,  Lucy,  don't  you  be  so  exclu- 
sive. Eve  Dodd  is  a  merry  girl.  She  comes  and  amuses 
me  when  you  are  not  here,  and  David,  by  all  accounts,  is  a 
fine  young  fellow,  and  as  modest  as  a  girl  of  fifteen ;  they 
will  make  me  laugh,  especially  Eve,  and  it  would  be  hard 
at  my  age,  I  think,  if  I  might  not  ask  whom  I  like — to  tea." 

"  So  it  would,"  put  in  Lucy,  hastily :  she  added,  coax- 
ing, "  it  shall  have  its  own  way — it  shall  have  what  makes 
it  laugh." 

Long  before  eight  o'clock  the  Fountains  had  forgotten 
that  they  had  invited  the  Dodds. 

Not  so  Eve.  She  was  all  in  a  flutter,  and  hesitated  be- 
tween two  dresses,  and  by  some  blessed  inspiration  decided 
for  the  plainest ;  but  her  principal  anxiety  was  not  about 
herself,  but  about  David's  deportment  before  the  Queen  of 
Fashion,  for  such  report  proclaimed  Miss  Fountain.  "  And 
those  fine  ladies  are  so  satirical,"  said  Eve  to  herself;  "  but 
I  will  lecture  him  going  along." 

Dinner-time,  and,  by  consequence,  tea-time  came  earlier 
in  those  days ;  so,  about  eight  o'clock,  a  tall  square-shoul- 
dered young  fellow  was  walking  in  the  moonlight  toward 
Font  Abbey,  Eve  holding  his  hand,  and  tripping  by  his 
side,  and  lecturing  him  on  deportment  very  gravely  while 
dancing  round  him  and  pulling  him  all  manner  of  ways, 
like  your  solid  tune  with  your  gamboling  accompaniment,  a 
combination  now  in  vogue.  All  of  a  sudden,  without  with 
your  leave  or  by  your  leave,  the  said  David  caught  this 
light  fantastic  object  up  in  his  arms  and  carried  it  on  one 
shoulder. 

On  this  she  gave  one  little  squeak  ;  then,  without  a  mo- 
ment's interval,  continued  her  lecture  as  if  nothing  had 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.  41 

happened.  She  looked  down  from  her  perch  like  a  hen 
from  a  ladder,  and  laid  down  the  law  to  David  with  seri- 
ousness and  asperity. 

"And  just  please  to  remember  that  they  are  people  a 
long  way  above  us — at  least  above  what  we  are  now,  since 
father  fell  into  trouble ;  so  don't  you  make  too  free ;  and 
Miss  Fountain  is  the  finest  of  all  the  fine  ladies  in  the 
county." 

"  Then  I  am  sorry  we  are  going." 

"No,  you  are  not ;  she  is  a  beautiful  girl." 

"  That  alters  the  case." 

"  No  it  does  not.  Don't  chatter  so,  David,  interrupting 
forever,  but  listen,  and  mind  what  I  say,  or  I'll  never  take 
you  any  where  again." 

"  Are  you  sure  you  are  taking  me  now  ?"  asked  David, 
dryly. 

"  Why  not,  Mr.  David  ?"  retorted  Eve  from  his  shoulder, 
"  Didn't  I  hear  you  tell  how'you  took  the  '  Combermere' 
out  of  harbor,  and  how  you  brought  her  into  port :  she 
didn't  take  you  out  and  bring  you  home,  eh !" 

"  Had  me  there,  though." 

"  Yes ;  and,  what  is  more,  you  are  not  skipper  of  the 
*  Combermere'  yet,  and  never  will  be ;  but  I  am  skipper  of 
you." 

"Ashore — not  a  doubt  of  "it,"  said  David,  with  cool  in- 
difference. He  despised  terrestrial  distinction,  courting  only 
such  as  was  marine. 

"  Then  I  command  you  to  let  me  down  this  instant :  do 
you  hear,  crew !  ?" 

"No,"  objected  David;  "if  I  put  you  overboard  you 
can't  command  the  vessel,  and  ten  to  one  if  the  craft  does 
not  founder  for  want  of  seawomanship  on  the  quarter-deck. 
However,"  added  he,  in  a  relenting  tone,  "  wait  till  we  get 
to  that  puddle  shining  on  ahead,  and  then  I'll  disembark 
you." 

"  No,  David,  do  let  me  down,  that's  a  good  soul.  I  ana 
tired,"  added  she,  peevishly. 


42  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG. 

"Tired!  of  what?" 

"  Of  doing  nothing,  stupid :  there,  let  me  down,  dear ; 
wont  you,  darling?  then  take  that,  love"  (a  box  of  the  ear). 

"  Well,  I've  got  it,"  said  David,  dryly. 

"Keep  it  then,  till  the  next — no,  he  won't  let  me  down. 
He  has  got  both  my  hands  in  one  of  his  paws,  and  he  will 
carry  me  every  foot  of  the  way  now — I  know  the  obstinate 

FS-" 

"  We  all  have  our  little  characters,  Eve.  Well,  I  have 
got  your  wrists,  but  you  have  got  your  tongue,  and  that  is 
the  stronger  weapon  of  the  two,  you  know ;  and  you  are  on 
the  poop,  so  give  your  orders,  and  the  ship  shall  be  worked 
accordingly ;  likewise  I  will  enter  all  your  remarks  on  good- 
breeding  into  my  log." 

Here,  unluckily,  David  tapped  his  forehead  to  signify 
that  the  log  in  question  was  a  metaphorical  one,  the  log  of 
memory.  Eve  had  him  again  directly.  She  freed  a  claw. 
"  So  this  is  your  log,  is  it  ?"  -cried  she,  tapping  it  as  hard  as 
she  could ;  "  well,  it  does  sound  like  wood  of  some  sort. 
Well,  then,  David,  dear — you  wretch,  I  mean — promise  me 
not  to  laugh  loud." 

"  Well,  I  will  not ;  it  is  odds  if  I  laugh  at  all.  I  wish 
we  were  to  moor  alongside  mother  instead  of  running  into 
this  strange  port." 

"  Stuff!  think  of  Miss  Fountain's  figure-head — nor  tell 
too  many  stories — and,  above  all,  for  heaven's  sake,  do  keep 
the  poor  dear  old  sea  out  of  sight  for  once." 

"  Ay,  ay,  that  stands  to  reason." 

By  this  time  they  were  at  Font  Abbey,  and  David  de- 
posited his  fair  burden  gently  on  the  stone  steps  of  the  door. 
She  opened  it  without  ceremony,  and  bustled  into  the  din- 
ing-room, crying,  "  I  have  brought  David,  sir,  and  here  he 
is ;"  and  she  accompanied  David's  bow  with  a  correspond- 
ing movement  of  her  hand,  the  knuckles  downward. 

The  old  gentleman  awoke  with  a  start,  rubbed  his  eyes, 
shook  hands  with  the  pair,  and  proposed  to  go  up  to  Lucy 
in  the  drawing-room. 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  43 

Now  it  happened  unluckily  that  Miss  Fountain  had  been 
to  the  library,  and  taken  down  one  or  two  of  those  men  and 
women  who,  according  to  her  uncle,  exist  only  on  paper, 
and  certain  it  is  she  was  in  charming  company,  when  she 
heard  her  visitors'  steps  and  voices  coming  up  the  stairs. 
Had  those  visitors  seen  the  vexed  expression  of  her  face  as 
she  laid  down  the  book,  they  would  have  instantly  'bout 
ship  and  home  again ;  but  that  sour  look  dissolved  away 
as  they  came  through  the  open  door. 

On  coming  in,  they  saw  a  young  lady  seated  on  a  sofa. 

Apparently  she  did  not  see  them  enter :  her  face  happen- 
ed to  be  averted ;  but,  ere  they  had  taken  three  steps,  she 
turned  her  face,  saw  them,  rose,  and  took  two  steps  to  meet 
them,  all  beaming  with  courtesy,  kindness,  and  quiet  satis- 
faction at  their  arrival. 

She  gave  her  hand  to  Eve. 

"  This  is  my  brother,  Miss  Fountain." 

Miss  Fountain  instantly  swept  David  a  courtesy  with 
such  a  grace  and  flow,  coupled  with  an  engaging  smile,  that 
the  sailor  was  fascinated,  and  gazed  instead  of  bowing. 

Eve  had  her  finger  ready  to  poke  him,  when  he  recovered 
himself  and  bowed  low. 

Eve  played  the  accompaniment  with  her  hand,  knuckles 
down. 

They  sat  down :  cups  of  tea,  etc.,  were  brought  round  to 
each  by  John.  It  was  bad  tea,  made  out  of  the  room : 
catch  a  human  being  making  good  tea  in  which  it  is  not  to 
share. 

Mr.  Fountain  was  only  half  awake. 

Eve  was  more  or  less  awed  by  Lucy.  David,  tutored  by 
Eve,  held  his  tongue  altogether,  or  gave  short  answers. 

"  This  must  be  what  the  novels  call  a  sea-cub !"  thought 
Miss  Fountain. 

The  friends,  Propriety  and  Restraint,  presided  over  the 
innocent  banquet,  and  a  dismal  evening  set  in. 

The  first  infraction  of  this  polite  tranquillity  came,  I  blush 
to  say.  from  the  descendant  of  John  de  Fontc.  He  explod- 


44  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

ed  in  a  yawn  of  magnitude ;  to  cover  this,  the  young  lady 
began  hastily  to  play  her  old  game  of  setting  people  astride 
their  topic,  and  she  selected  David  Dodd  for  the  experiment. 
She  put  on  a  warm  curiosity  about  the  sea,  and  ships,  and 
the  countries  men  visit  in  them.  Then  occurred  a  droll 
phenomenon  :  David  flashed  with  animation,  and  began 
full  and  intelligent  answers ;  then,  catching  his  sister's  eye, 
came  to  unnatural  full  stops ;  and  so  warmly  and  skillfully 
was  he  pressed,  that  it  cost  him  a  gigantic  effort  to  avoid 
giving  much  amusement  and  instruction.  The  courtier  saw 
this  hesitation,  and  the  vivid  flashes  of  intelligence,  and 
would  not  lose  her  prey.  She  drew  him  with  all  a  wom- 
an's tact,  and  with  a  warmth  so  well  feigned  that  it  set  him 
on  real  fire.  His  instinct  of  politeness  would  not  let  him 
go  on  all  night  giving  short  answers  to  inquiring  beauty. 
He  turned  his  eye,  which  glowed  now  like  a  live  coal,  to- 
ward that  enticing  voice,  and  presently,  like  a  ship  that  has 
been  hanging  over  the  water  ever  so  long  on  the  last  roll- 
ers, with  one  gallant  glide  he  took  the  sea,  and  towed  them 
all  like  little  cockle-boats  in  his  wake.  From  sea  to  sea, 
from  port  to  port,  from  tribe  to  tribe,  from  peril  to  peril, 
from  feat  to  feat,  David  whirled  his  wonder-struck  hearers, 
and  held  them  panting  by  the  quadruple  magic  of  a  tuneful 
voice,  a  changing  eye,  an  ardent  soul,  and  truth  at  first- 
hand. 

They  sat  thrilled  and  surprised,  most  of  all  Miss  Fount- 
ain. To  her,  things  great  and  real  had  up  to  that  moment 
been  mere  vague  outlines  seen  through  a  mist.  Moreover, 
her  habitual  courtesy  had  hitherto  drawn  out  pumps ;  but 
now,  when  least  expected,  all  in  a  moment,  as  a  spark  fires 
powder,  it  let  off  a  man. 

A  sailor  is  a  live  book  of  travels.  Check  your  own  van- 
ity (if  you  possibly  can),  and  set  him  talking,  you  shall  find 
him  full  of  curious  and  profitable  matter. 

The  Fountains  did  not  know  this,  and,  even  if  they  had, 
Dodd  would  have  taken  them  by  surprise ;  for,  besides  be- 
ing a  sailor  and  a  sea-enthusiast,  he  was  a  fellow  of  great 
capacity  and  mental  vigor. 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  45 

He  had  not  skimmed  so  many  books  as  we  have,  but  I 
fear  he  had  sucked  more.  However,  his  main  strength  did 
not  lie  there:  he  was  not  a  paper  man,  and  this — O  men 
of  paper,  and  O  C.  R.  in  particular — gave  him  a  tremen- 
dous advantage  over  you  that  Sunday  evening. 

The  man  whose  knowledge  all  comes  from  reading  accu- 
mulates a  great  number  of  what — facts  ?  no,  of  the  shad- 
ows of  facts ;  shadows  often  so  thin,  indistinct,  and  feature- 
less, that,  when  one  of  the  facts  themselves  runs  against  him 
in  real  life,  he  does  not  know  his  old  friend,  round  about 
which  he  has  written  a  smart  leader  in  a  journal,  and  a 
ponderous  trifle  in  the  Polysyllabic  Review. 

But  this  sailor  had  stowed  into  his  mental  hold  not  fact- 
shadows,  but  the  glowing  facts  all  alive  oh.  For  thirteen 
years,  man  and  boy,  he  had  beat  about  the  globe,  with  real 
eyes,  real  ears,  and  real  brains  ever  at  work.  He  had  drunk 
living  knowledge  like  a  fish,  and  at  fountain-heads. 

Yet,  to  utter  intellectual  wealth  nobly,  two  things  more 
are  indispensable  —  the  gift  of  language  and  a  tunable 
voice,  which  last  does  not  always  come  by  talking  with 
tempests. 

Well,  David  Dodd  had  sucked  in  a  good  deal  of  language 
from  books  and  tongues ;  not,  indeed,  the  Norman-French 
and  demi-Latin,  and  jargon  of  the  schools,  printed  for  Eng- 
lish in  impotent  old  trimestrials  for  the  farther  fogification 
of  cliques,  but  he  had  laid  by  a  fair  store  of  the  best — of  the 
monosyllables — the  Saxon — the  soul  and  vestal  fire  of  the 
great  English  tongue. 

So  he  was  never  at  a  loss  for  words,  simple,  clear,  strong, 
like  blasts  of  a  horn. 

His  voice  at  this  period  was  mellow  and  flexible.  He 
was  a  mimic  too ;  the  brighter  things  he  had  seen,  whether 
glories  of  nature  or  acts  of  man,  had  turned  to  pictures  in 
this  man's  mind.  He  flashed  these  pictures  one  after  an- 
other upon  the  trio ;  he  peopled  the  soft  and  cushioned 
drawing-room  with  twenty  different  tribes,  and  varieties 
of  man,  barbarous,  semi-barbarous,  and  civilized ;  their  cu- 


46  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

rious  customs,  their  songs  and  chants,  and  dances,  and 
struts,  and  actual  postures. 

The  aspect  of  famous  shores  from  the  sea,  glittering 
coasts,  dark  straits,  volcanic  rocks  defying  sea  and  sky,  and 
warm,  delicious  islands  clothed  with  green,  that  burst  on 
the  mariner's  sight  after  rugged  places  and  scowling  skies. 

The  adventures  of  one  unlucky  ship,  the  "  Connemara," 
on  a  single  whaling  cruise  on  the  coast  of  Peru.  The  first 
slight  signs  of  a  gale,  seen  only  by  the  careful  skipper.  The 
hasty  preparation  for  it:  all  hands  to  shorten  sail;  then 
the  moaning  of  the  wind  high  up  in  the  sky.  All  hands  to 
reef  sail  now — the  whirl  and  whoo  of  the  gale  as  it  came 
down  on  them.  The  ship  careening  as  it  caught  her,  the 
speaking-trumpet — the  captain  howling  his  orders  through 
it  amid  the  tumult. 

The  floating  icebergs — the  ship  among  them,  picking  her 
way  in  and  out  a  hundred  deaths.  Baffled  by  the  unyield- 
ing wind  off  Cape  Horn,  sailing  six  weeks  on  opposite  tacks, 
and  ending  just  where  they  began,  weather-bound  in  sight 
of  the  gloomy  Horn.  Then  the  terrors  of  a  land-locked 
bay,  and  a  lee  shore ;  the  ship  tacking,  writhing,  twisting, 
to  weather  one  jutting  promontory ;  the  sea  and  safety  is 
on  the  other  side  of  it,  land  and  destruction  on  this — the 
attempt,  the  hope,  the  failure ;  then  the  stout-hearted,  skill- 
ful captain  would  try  one  rare  manoeuvre  to  save  ship,  car- 
go, and  crew.  He  would  club-haul  her,  "  and  if  that  fails, 
my  lads,  there  is  nothing  but  up  mainsail,  up  helm,  run  her 
slap  ashore,  and  lay  her  bones  on  the  softest  bit  of  rock  we 
can  pick." 

Long  ere  this  the  poor  ship  had  become  a  live  thing  to 
all  these  four,  and  they  hung  breathless  on  her  fate. 

Then  he  showed  how  a  ship  is  club-hauled,  and  told  how 
nobly  the  old  "  Connemara"  behaved  (ships  are  apt  to  when 
well  handled — double-barreled  guns  ditto),  and  how  the 
wind  blew  fiercer,  and  the  rocks  seemed  to  open  their 
mouths  for  her,  and  how  she  hung  and  vibrated  between 
safety  and  destruction,  and  at  last  how  she  writhed  and 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  47 

slipped  between  Death's  lips,  yet  escaped  his  teeth,  and 
tossed  and  tumbled  in  triumph  on  the  great  but  fair-fight- 
ing sea ;  and  how  they  got  at  last  to  the  whaling-ground, 
and  could  not  find  a  whale  for  many  a  weary  day,  and  the 
novices  said  "  they  were  all  killed  before  we  sailed ;"  and 
how,  as  uncommon  ill  luck  is  apt  to  be  balanced  by  uncom- 
mon good  luck,  one  fine  evening  they  fell  in  with  a  whole 
shoal  of  whales  at  play,  jumping  clean  into  the  air  sixty  feet 
long,  and  coming  down  each  with  a  splash  like  thunder: 
even  the  captain  had  never  seen  such  a  game ;  and  how  the 
crew  were  for  lowering  the  boats  and  going  at  them,  but 
the  captain  would  not  let  them :  a  hundred  playful  mount- 
ains of  fish,  the  smallest  weighing  thirty  ton,  flopping  down 
happy-go-lucky,  he  did  not  like  the  looks  of  it.  "  The  boat 
will  be  at  the  mercy  of  chance  among  all  those  tails,  and  we 
are  not  lucky  enough  to  throw  at  random.  No ;  since  the 
beggars  have  taken  to  dancing  for  a  change,  let  them  dance 
all  night ;  to-morrow  they  shall  pay  the  piper."  How,  at 
peep  of  day,  the  man  at  the  mast-head  saw  ten  whales  about 
two  leagues  off  on  the  weather  bow ;  how  the  ship  tacked 
and  stood  toward  them ;  how  she  weathered  on  one  of  mon- 
strous size,  and  how  he  and  the  other  youngsters  were  mad 
to  lower  the  boat  and  go  after  it,  and  how  the  captain  said, 
"  Ye  lubbers,  can't  ye  see  that  is  a  right  whale,  and  not 
worth  a  button  ?  Look  here  away  over  the  quarter  at  this 
whale  :  see  how  low  she  spouts  :  she  is  a  sperm  whale,  and 
worth  seven  hundred  pounds  if  she  was  only  dead  and  towed 
alongside." 

" '  That  she  shall  be  in  about  a  minute,'  cried  one ;  and, 
indeed,  we  were  all  in  a  flame ;  the  boat  was  lowered,  and 
didn't  I  worship  the  skipper  when  he  told  me  off  to  be  one 
of  her  crew ! 

"  I  was  that  eager  to  be  in  at  that  whale's  death,  I  didn't 
recollect  there  might  be  smaller  brutes  in  danger. 

"Just  before  the  oars  fell  into  the  water,  the  skipper 
looked  down  over  the  bulwarks,  and  says  he  to  one  of  us 
that  had  charge  of  the  rope  that  is  fast  to  the  boat  at  one 


48          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

end  and  to  the  harpoon  at  the  other, l  Now,  Jack,  you  are  a 
new  hand ;  mind  all  I  told  you  last  night,  or  your  mother 
will  see  me  come  ashore  without  you,  and  that  will  vex 
her ;  and,  my  lads,  remember,  if  there  is  a  single  lubberly 
hitch  in  that  line,  you  will  none  of  you  come  up  the  ship's 
side  again.' 

" '  All  right,  captain,'  says  Jack,  and  we  pulled  off  sing- 
ing, 

"  'And  spring  to  your  oars,  and  make  your  boat  fly, 
And  when  you  come  near  her  beware  of  her  eye,' 

till  the  coxswain  bade  us  hold  our  lubberly  tongues,  and  not 
frighten  the  whales ;  however,  we  soon  found  we  wanted 
all  our  breath  for  our  work,  and  more  too."  Then  David 
painted  the  furious  race  after  the  whale,  and  how  the  boat 
gradually  gained,  and  how  at  last,  as  he  was  grinding  his 
teeth  and  pulling  like  mad,  he  heard  a  sound  ahead  like  a 
hundred  elephants  wallowing;  and  now  he  hoped  to  see 
the  harpooner  leave  his  oar,  and  rise  and  fling  his  weapon ; 
"  but  that  instant,  up  flukes,  a  tower  of  fish  was  seen  a  mo- 
ment in  the  air,  with  a  tail-fin  at  the  top  of  it  just  about 
the  size  of  this  room  we  are  sitting  in,  ladies,  and  down  the 
whale  sounded ;  then  it  was  pull  on  again  in  her  wake,  ac- 
cording as  she  headed  in  sounding ;  pull  for  the  dear  life ;  and 
after  a  while  the  oarsmen  saw  the  steersman's  eyes,  prying 
over  the  sea,  turn  like  hot  coals.  The  men  caught  fire  at 
this,  and  put  their  very  backbones  into  each  stroke,  and  the 
boat  skimmed  and  flew.  Suddenly  the  steersman  cried  out 
fiercely,  *  Stand  up,  harpoon !'  Up  rose  the  harpooner,  his 
eye  like  a  hot  coal  now.  The  men  saw  nothing ;  they  must 
pull  fiercer  than  ever.  The  harpooner  balanced  his  iron, 
swayed  his  body  lightly,  and  the  harpoon  hissed  from  him. 
A  soft  thud — then  a  heaving  of  the  water  all  round,  a  slap 
that  sounded  like  a  church  tower  falling  flat  upon  an  acre 
of  boards,  and  drenched,  and  blinded,  and  half  smothered  us 
all  in  spray,  and  at  the  same  moment  away  whirled  the 
boat,  dancing  and  kicking  in  the  whale's  foaming,  bubbling 
wake,  and  we  holding  on  like  grim  death  by  the  thwarts, 
not  to  be  spun  out  into  the  sea." 


LOVE    ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  49 

"  Delightful !"  cried  Miss  Fountain  ;  "  the  waves  bound- 
ed beneath  you  like  a  steed  that  knows  its  rider.  Pray  con- 
tinue." 

"  Yes,  Miss  Fountain.  Now  of  course  you  can  see  that 
if  the  line  ran  out  too  easy,  the  whale  would  leave  us  astern 
altogether,  and  that  if  it  jammed  or  ran  too  hard,  she  would 
tow  us  under  water." 

"  Of  course  we  see,"  said  Eve,  ironically ;  "  we  under- 
stand every  thing  by  instinct.  Hang  explanations  when 
I'm  excited  ;  go  ahead,  do !" 

"Then  I  won't  explain  how  it  is  or  why  it  is,  but  I'll 
just  let  you  know  that  two  or  three  hundred  fathom  of  line 
are  passed  round  the  boat  from  stem  to  stern  and  back,  and 
carried  in  and  out  between  the  oarsmen  as  they  sit.  Well, 
it  was  all  new  to  me  then  ;  but  when  the  boat  began  jump- 
ing and  rocking,  and  the  line  began  whizzing  in  and  out, 
and  screaming  and  smoking  like — there,  now,  fancy  a  ma- 
chine, a  complicated  cne,  made  of  poisonous  serpents,  the 
steam  on,  and  you  sitting  in  the  middle  of  the  works,  with 
not  an  inch  to  spare,  on  the  crankest,  rockingest,  jumping- 
est,  bumpingest,  rollingest  cradle  that  ever — " 

"David!"  said  Eve,  solemnly. 

"  Hallo !"  sang  out  David.  •* 

"Don't!" 

"Oh  yes,  do!"  cried  Lucy,  slightly  clasping  her  hands. 

"  If  this  little  black  ugly  line  was  to  catch  you,  it  would 
spin  you  out  of  the  boat  like  a  shuttle-cock  ;  if  it  held  you, 
it  would  cut  you  in  two,  or  hang  you  to  death  or  drown 
you  all  at  one  time  ;  and  if  it  got  jammed  against  any  thing 
alive  or  dead  that  could  stand  the  strain,  it  would  take  the 
boat  and  crew  down  to  the  coral  before  you  could  wink 
twice." 

"Oh  dear,"  said  Lucy;  "then  I  don't  think  I  like  it 
now;  it  is  too  terrible.  Pray  go  on,  Mr. — Mr. — " 

"Well,  Miss  Fountain,  when  a  novice  like  me  saw  this 
black  serpent  twisting  and  twirling,  and  smoking  and  hiss- 
ing in  and  out  among  us,  I  remember  the  skipper's  words, 

C 


50  LOVE    ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

and  I  hailed  Jack — it  was  he  had  laid  .the  line — he  was  in 
the  bow. 

"'Jack,'  said  I. 

"'Hallo!' said  he. 

" '  For  God's  sake,  are  there  any  hitches  in  the  line  f 
said  I. 

"  '  Not  as  I  knows  on,'  says  he,  much  cooler  than  you  sit 
there,  and  that  is  a  sailor  all  over.  Well,  she  towed  us 
about  a  mile,  and  then  she  was  blown,  and  we  hauled  up 
on  the  line,  and  came  up  with  her,  and  drove  lances  into 
her  till  she  spouted  blood  instead  of  salt  water,  and  went 
into  her  flurry,  and  rolled  suddenly  over  our  way  dead,  and 
was  within  a  foot  of  smashing  us  to  atoms ;  but  if  she  had 
it  would  only  have  been  an  accident,  for  she  was  past  mal- 
ice, poor  thing;  then  we  took  possession,  planted  our  flag- 
staff in  her  spouting-hole,  you  know,  and  pulled  back  t« 
the  ship,  and  she  came  down  and  anchored  to  the  whale, 
and  then  for  the  first  time  I  saw  the  blubber  stripped  off  a 
whale  and  hoisted  by  tackles  into  the  ship's  hold,  which  is 
as  curious  as  any  part  of  the  business,  but  a  dirtyish  job, 
and  not  fit  for  the  present  company,  and  I  dare  say  that  is 
enough  about  whales." 

"No!  no!  no!" 

"  Well,  then,  shall  I  tell  you  how  one  old  whale  knocked 
our  boat  clean  into  the  air,  bottom  uppermost,  and  how  we 
swam  round  her,  and  managed  to  right  her?" 

"And  went  back  to  the  ship,  and  had  your  tea  in  bed, 
and  your  clothes  dried"?" 

"No,  Eve,"  replied  David,  with  the  utmost  simplicity; 
"  we  got  in  and  to  work  again,  and  killed  the  whale  in  less 
than  half  an  hour,  and  planted  our  flag  on  her,  and  away 
after  another." 

Then  he  told  them  how  they  harpooned  one  right  whale, 
and  by  good  luck  were  able  to  make  her  fast  to  the  stern  of 
the  ship ;  "  and,  it  you  will  believe  me,  Miss  Fountain, 
though  there  was  just  a  breath  on  and  off  right  aft,  and  the 
foresail,  jib,  and  mizen  all  set  to  catch  it,  she  towed  the 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONG.  51 

ship  astern  a  good  cable's  length,  and  the  last  thing  was 
she  broke  the  harpoon  shaft  just  below  the  line,  and  away 
she  swam  right  in  the  wind's  eye." 

"  And  there  was  an  end  of  her  and  your  nasty  cruel  har- 
poon, and — oh,  I'm  so  pleased!" 

"  No  there  wasn't,  Eve ;  we  heard  of  both  fish  and  har- 
poon again,  but  not  for  a  good  many  years." 

"Mr.  Dodd!" 

"Yes,  Miss  Fountain.  It  is  curious,  like  many  things 
that  fall  out  at  sea,  but  not  so  wonderful  as  her  towing  a 
ship  of  four  hundred  tons,  with  the  foresail,  mizen,  and  jib 
all  aback.  Well,  sir,  did  you  ever  hear  of  Nantucket?  It 
is  a  port  in  the  United  States ;  and  our  harpooner  happen- 
ed to  be  there  full  four  years  after  we  lost  this  whale. 
Some  Yankee  whalers  were  treating  him  to  the  best  of 
grog,  and  it  was  brag  Briton,  brag  Yankee,  according  to 
custom  whenever  these  two  meet.  Well,  our  man  had  no 
more  invention  than  a  stone ;  so  he  was  getting  the  worst 
of  it  till  he  bethought  him  of  this  whale  ;  so  he  up  and  told 
how  he  had  struck  a  right  whale  in  the  Pacific,  and  she 
had  towed  the  ship  with  her  sails  aback,  at  least  her  fore- 
sail, mizen,  and  jib,  only  he  didn't  tell  it  short  like  me,  but 
as  long  as  the  Red  Sea,  with  the  day  and  the  hour,  the  lati- 
tude (within  four  or  five  degrees,  I  take  it),  and  what  we 
had  done  a  week  before,  and  what  we  had  not  done,  all  by 
way  of  prologue,  and  for  fear  of  weathering  the  horn — tic, 
tic — the  point  of  the  story  too  soon.  When  he  had  done 
there  was  a  general  howl  of  laughter,  and  they  began  to 
cap  lies  with  him,  and  so  they  bantered  him  most  cruelly, 
by  all  accounts;  but  at  last  a  long,  silent  chap,  weather- 
beaten  to  the  color  of  rosewood,  put  in  his  word. 

"  'What  was  the  ship's  name,  mate1?' 

"  '  The  Connemara,'  says  he. 

'"And  what  is  your  name?'  So  he  told  him,  'Jem 
Green.' 

"  The  other  brings  a  great  mutton  fist  down  on  the  table, 
and  makes  all  the  glasses  dance.  '  You  stay  at  your  moor- 


52  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

ings  till  I  come  back,'  says  he.  '  I  have  got  something  be- 
longing to  you,  Jem  Green/  and  he  sheered  off.  The  oth- 
ers lay  to  and  passed  the  grog.  Presently  the  long  one 
comes  back  with  a  harpoon  steel  in  his  hand:  there  was 
'  Connemara'  stamped  on  it,  and  also  'James  Green'  graved 
with  a  knife.  'Is  that  yours?'  'Is  my  hand  mine1?'  says 
Jem  ;  '  but  wasn't  there  a  broken  shaft  to  it  ?' 

"  '  There  was,'  says  the  Yankee  harpooner ;  '  I  cut  it  out.' 

"  '  Well!'  says  Jem, '  that  is  the  harpoon  we  were  fast  by 
to  this  very  whale.  Where  did  you  kill  her?' 

"  'In  the  Greenland  seas.'  And  he  whips  out  his  private 
log.  'Plere  you  are,'  says  he:  'March  25,  1820,  latitude 
so  and  so,  killed  a  right  whale ;  lost  half  the  blubber,  owing 
to  the  carcass  sinking :  cut  an  English  harpoon  out  of  her.' 

'"Avast  there,  mate!'  cries  Jem,  and  he  whips  out  his 
log;  'overhaul  that.'  The  other  harpooner  overhauled  it. 
'Mates,  look  here,'  says  he;  'I  reckon  we  ha'n't  fathomed 
the  critters  yet.  The  Britisher  struck  her  in  the  Pacific 
on  the  5th  of  March,  and  we  killed  her  off  Greenland  on 
the  25th,  five  thousand  miles  of  water  by  the  lowest  reckon- 
ing.' By  this  time  there  were  a  dozen  heads  jammed  to- 
gether, like  bees  swarming,  over  the  two  logs.  '  She  got  a 
wound  in  the  Pacific !  "  Hallo !"  says  she ;  "  this  is  no  sea 
for  a  lady  to  live  in  ;"  so  she  up  helm,  and  right  away  across 
the  pole  into  the  Atlantic,  and  met  her  death.'  " 

"  Your  story  has  an  interest  you  little  suspect,  young 
gentleman.  If  this  is  true,  the  northwest  passage  is  proved." 

"That  has  been  proved  a  hundred  times,  sir,  and  in  a 
hundred  ways  ;  the  only  riddle  is  to  find  it.  The  man  that 
tells  you  there  is  not  a  northwest  passage  is  no  sailor,  and 
the  fish  that  can't  find  it  is  not  a  whale;  for  there  is  not  a 
young  suckling  no  bigger  than  this  room  that  does  not  know 
that  passage  as  well  as  a  mid  on  his  first  voyage  knows  the 
way  to  the  mizen-top  through  lubber's  hole.  How  tired 
you  must  be  of  whales,  ladies?" 

"Oh  no." 

"  Kill  us  one  more,  David.    I  love  bloodshed — to  hear  of." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  53 

"Well  now,  I  don't  think  that  can  be  Miss  Fountain's 
taste,  to  look  at  her." 

Then  David  told  them  how  he  had  fallen  in  with  a  sperm 
whale,  dead  of  disease,  floating  as  high  as  a  frigate ;  how, 
with  a  very  light  breeze,  the  skipper  had  crept  down  toward 
her ;  how,  at  half  a  mile  distance,  the  stench  of  her  was 
severe,  but,  as  they  neared  her,  awful:  then  so  intolerable 
that  the  skipper  gave  the  crew  leave  to  go  below  and  close 
the  lee  ports.  So  there  were  but  two  men  left  on  the  brig's 
deck,  and  a  ship's  company  that  a  hurricane  would  not  have 
driven  from  their  duty  skulked  before  a  foul  smell ;  but  such 
a  smell !  a  smell  that  struck  a  chill  and  a  loathing  to  the 
heart,  and  soul,  and  marrow-bone ;  a  smell  like  the  gases 
in  a  foul  mine :  "  it  would  have  suffocated  us  in  a  few  mo- 
ments if  we  had  been  shut  up  along  with  it."  Then  he  told 
how  the  skipper  and  he  stuffed  their  noses  and  ears  with 
cotton  steeped  in  aromatic  vinegar,  and  their  mouths  with 
pig-tail  (by  which,  as  it  subsequently  appeared,  Lucy  under- 
stood pork  or  bacon  in  some  form  unknown  to  her  narrow 
experience),  and  lighted  short  pipes,  and  breached  the  brig 
upon  the  putrescerrt  monster,  and  grappled  to  it,  and  then 
the  skipper  jumped  on  it,  a  basket  slung  to  his  back,  and  a 
rope  fast  under  his  shoulders  in  case  of  accident,  and  drove 
his  spade  in  behind  the  whale's  side-fin." 

"His  spade,  Mr.  Dodd?" 

"  His  whale-spade  :  it  is  as  sharp  as  a  razor ;"  and  how 
the  skipper  dug  a  hole  in  the  whale  as  big  as  a  well  and 
four  feet  deep,  and,  after  a  long  search,  gave  a  shout  of  tri- 
umph, and  picked  out  some  stuff  that  looked  like  Glouces- 
ter cheese;  and  when  he  had  nearly  filled  his  basket  with 
this  stuff,  he  slacked  the  grappling-iron,  and  David  hauled 
him  on  board,  and  the  carcass  dropped  astern,  and  the  cap- 
tain sang  out  for  rum,  and  drank  a  small  tumbler  neat,  and 
would  have  fainted  away,  spite  of  his  precautions,  but  for 
the  rum,  and  how  a  heavenly  perfume  was  now  on  deck 
fighting  with  that  horrid  odor.  And  how  the  crew  smelt 
it,  and  crept  timidly  up  one  by  one,  and  how  "  the  Glo'ster 


54  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

cheese  was  a  great  favorite  of  yours,  ladies :  it  was  the  king 
of  perfumes — amber-gas  :  there  is  some  of  it  in  all  your  rich- 
est scents ;  and  the  knowing  skipper  had  made  a  hundred 
guineas  in  the  turn  of  the  hand.  So  knowledge  is  wealth, 
you  see,  and  the  sweet  can  be  got  out  of  the  sour  by  such 
as  study  nature." 

"  Don't  preach,  David,  especially  after  just  telling  a  fib — 
a  hundred  guineas ! !" 

"  I  am  wrong,"  said  David. 

"  Very  wrong,  indeed." 

"There  were  eight  pounds;  and  he  sold  it  at  a  guinea 
the  ounce  to  a  wholesale  chemist,  so  that  looks  to  me  like 
£128." 

Then  David  left  the  whales,  and  encouraged  by  bright 
eyes,  and  winning  smiles,  and  warm  questions,  sang  higher 
strains. 

Ships  in  dire  distress  at  sea,  yet  saved  by  God's  mercy, 
and  the  cool,  invincible  courage  of  captain  and  crew — great 
ships  run  ashore — the  waves  breaking  them  up — the  rig- 
ging black  with  the  despairing  crew,  eying  the  watery  death 
that  tumbled,  and  gaped,  and  roared  for  them  below ;  and 
then  little  shore-boats,  manned  by  daring  hearts,  launched 
into  the  surf,  and  going  out  to  the  great  ship  and  her  peril, 
risking  more  life  for  the  chance  of  saving  life.  And  he  did 
not  present  the  bare  skeletons  of  daring  acts ;  those  grand 
morgues,  the  journals,  do  that.  There  lie  the  dry  bones  of 
giant  epics  waiting  Genius'  hand  to  make  them  live.  He 
gave  them  not  only  the  broad  outward  facts — the  bones; 
but  those  smaller  touches  that  are  the  body  and  soul  of  a 
story,  true  or  false,  wanting  which  the  deeds  of  heroes  sound 
an  almanac ;  above  all,  he  gave  them  glimpses  not  only  of 
what  men  acted,  but  what  they  felt ;  what  passed  in  the 
hearts  of  men  perishing  at  sea,  in  sight  of  land,  houses,  fires 
on  the  hearth,  and  outstretched  hands,  and  in  the  hearts  of 
the  heroes  that  ran  their  boats  into  the  surf  and  Death's 
maw  to  save  them,  and  of  the  lookers  on,  admiring,  fearing, 
shivering,  glowing,  and  of  the  women  that  sobbed  and  prayed 


LOVE    ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  55 

ashore  with  their  backs  to  the  sea,  just  able  to  risk  lover, 
husband,  and  son  for  the  honor  of  manhood  and  the  love  of 
Christ,  but  not  able  to  look  on  at  their  own  flesh  and  blood 
diving  so  deep,  and  lost  so  long  in  cockle-shells  between  the 
hills  of  waves. 

Such  great  acts,  great  feelings,  great  perils,  and  the  gushes 
that  crowned  all  of  holy  triumph  when  the  boats  came  in 
with  the  dripping  and  saved,  and  man  for  a  moment  looked 
greater  than  the  sea,  and  the  wind,  and  death,  this  seaman 
poured  hot  from  his  own  manly  heart  into  quick  and  wom- 
anly bosoms,  that  heaved  visibly,  and  glowed  with  admiring 
sympathy,  and  fluttered  with  gentle  fear. 

And  after  a  while,  though  not  at  first,  David's  yarns  be- 
gan to  contain  a  double  interest  to  one  of  the  party — Miss 
Fountain.  Those  who  live  to  please  get  to  read  character 
at  sight,  and  David,  though  in  these  more  noble  histories  he 
scarcely  named  himself,  was  laying  a  full-length  picture  of 
his  own  mind  bare  to  these  keen  feminine  eyes.  As  for  old 
Fountain,  he  was  charmed,  and  saw  nothing  more  than 
David  showed  him  outright.  But  the  women  sat  flashing 
secret  intelligence  backward  and  forward  from  eye  to  eye 
after  the  manner  of  their  sex. 

"  Do  you  see  ?"  said  one  lady's  eyes. 

"Yes,"  replied  the  other.  "He  was  concerned  in  this 
feat,  though  he  does  not  say  so." 

"  Oh !  you  agree  with  me  ?  Then  we  are  right,"  replied 
the  first  pair  of  speakers. 

"There  again  :  look  ;  this  sailor,  whom  he  describes  as  a 
fellow  that  happened  to  be  ashore  at  that  foreign  port  with 
nothing  better  to  do,  and  who  went  out  with  the  English 
smugglers  to  save  the  brig  when  the  natives  durst  not  launch 
a  boat  T' 

"  Himself!  not  a  doubt  of  it" 

And  so  the  blue  and  hazel  lightning  went  dancing  to  and 
fro ;  ay,  even  when  the  tale  took  a  sorrowful  turn,  and  dim- 
med these  bright  orbs  of  intelligence,  the  lightning  struggled 
through  the  dew,  and  David  was  read  and  discussed  by 


56  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG. 

gleams,  and  glances,  and  flashes,  without  a  word  spoken. 
And  he,  all  unconscious  that  he  sat  between  a  pair  of  tele- 
graphs, and  heating  more  and  more  under  his  great  recol- 
lections and  his  hearers'  sympathy,  inthralled  them  with 
his  tuneful  voice,  his  glowing  face,  his  lion  eye,  and  his 
breathing,  burning  histories  :  heart  to  dare  and  do,  yet  heart 
to  feel,  and  brain  and  tongue  to  tell  a  deed  well,  are  rare 
allies,  yet  here  they  met.  He  mastered  his  hearers,  and 
played  on  their  breasts  as  David  played  the  harp,  and  per- 
haps Achilles;  Bochsa  never,  nor  any  of  his  tribe.  He 
made  the  old  man  forget  his  genealogies,  his  small  ambition, 
his  gout,  his  years,  and  be  a  boy  again  an  hour  or  two  in 
thought,  and  blood,  and  early  fire.  He  made  the  women's 
bosoms  pant,  and  swell,  and  seem  to  aspire  to  be  the  nests 
and  cradles  of  heroes,  and  their  eyes  flash  and  glisten,  and 
their  cheeks  flush  and  grow  pale  by  turns ;  and  the  four  lit- 
tle papered  walls  that  confined  them  seemed  to  fall  without 
noise,  and  they  were  away  in  thought  out  of  a  carpeted  tem- 
ple of  wax,  small  talk,  nonentity,  and  nonentities,  away  to 
sea-breezes  that  they  almost  felt  in  their  hair  and  round  their 
temples  as  their  hearts  rose  and  fell  upon  a  broad  swell  of 
passion,  perils,  waves,  male  men,  realities.  The  spell  was 
at  its  height,  when  the  sea-wizard's  eye  fell  on  the  mantel 
piece.  Died  in  a  moment  his  noble  ardor :  "  Why,  it  is 
eight  bells,"  said  he,  servilely ;  then,  doggedly,  "  time  t« 
turn  in." 

"  Hang  that  clock !"  shouted  Mr.  Fountain ;  "  I'll  have 
it  turned  out  of  the  room." 

Said  Lucy,  with  gentle  enthusiasm,  "It  must  be  beauti- 
ful to  be  a  sailor,  and  to  have  seen  the  real  world,  and, 

above  all,  to  be  brave  and  strong  like  Mr. ,  must  it  not, 

uncle  ?"  and  she  looked  askant  at  David's  square  shoulders 
and  lion  eye,  and  for  the  first  time  in  her  life  there  crossed 
her  an  undefined  instinct  that  this  gentleman  must  be  the 
male  of  her  species. 

"As  for  his  courage,"  said  Eve,  " that  we  have  only  his 
own  word  for." 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  57 

David  grinned. 

"  Nor  even  that,"  replied  Lucy,  "  for  I  observed  he  spoke 
but  little  of  himself." 

"  I  did  not  notice  that,"  said  Eve  pertly  ;  "  but  as  for  his 
strength,  he  certainly  is  as  strong  as  a  great  bear,  and  as 
rude.  What  do  you  think?  my  lord  carried  me  all  the 
way  from  the  top  of  the  green  lane  to  your  house,  and  I  am 
no  feather." 

"No,  a  skein  of  silk,"  put  in  David. 

"  I  asked  the  gentleman  politely  to  put  me  down,  and  he 
wouldn't,  so  then  I  boxed  his  ears." 

"  Oh  !  how  could  you  f " 

"  Oh !  bless  you,  he  never  hits  me  again  ;  he  is  too  great 
a  coward.  And  the  great  mule  carried  me  all  the  more — 
carried  me  to  your  very  door." 

"  I  almost  think — I  believe  I  could  guess  why  he  carried 
you,  if  you  will  not  be  offended  at  my  assuming  the  inter- 
preter," said  Lucy,  looking  at  Eve  and  speaking  at  David. 
"You  have  thin  shoes  on,  Miss  Dodd;  now  I  remember, 
the  gravel  ends  at  green  lane  and  the  grass  begins ;  so,  from 
what  we  now  know  of  Mr.  Dodd,  perhaps  he  carried  you 
that  you  might  not  have  damp  feet." 

"  Nothing  of  the  kind — yes  it  was,  though,  by  his  color- 
ing up.  La !  David,  dear  boy !" 

"  What  is  a  man  alongside  for  but  to  keep  a  girl  out  of 
mischief,"  said  David,  brusquely. 

"Pray  convert  all  your  sex  to  that  view,"  laughed  Lucy. 

So  now  they  were  going.  Then  Mr.  Fountain  thanked 
David  for  the  pleasant  evening  he  had  given  them  ;  then 
David  blushed  and  stammered:  he  had  a  veneration  for  old 
age — another  of  his  superstitions. 

Her  uncle's  lead  gave  Lucy  an  opportunity  she  instantly 
seized.  "Mr.  Dodd,  you  have  taken  us  into  a  new  world 
of  knowledge ;  we  never  were  so  interested  in  our  lives." 
At  this  point-blank  praise  David  blushed,  and  was  any  thing 
but  comfortable,  and  began  to  back  out  of  it  all  with  a  curt 
bow.  Then,  as  the  ladies  can  advance  when  a  man  of  mer- 

C2 


58  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

it  retreats,  Lucy  went  the  length  of  putting  out  her  hand 
with  a  sweet,  grateful  smile ;  so  he  took  it,  and,  in  the  ar- 
dor of  encouraging  so  much  spirit  and  modesty,  she  uncon- 
sciously pressed  it.  On  this  delicious  pressure,  light  as  it 
was,  he  raised  his  full  brown  eye,  and  gave  her  such  a 
straightforward  look  of  manly  admiration  and  pleasure  that 
she  blushed  faintly,  and  drew  back  a  little  in  her  turn. 

"  Well,  Davy,  dear,  how  do  you  like  the  Fountains  ?" 

"  Eve,  she  is  a  clipper  !" 

"  And  the  old  gentleman  1" 

"Pie  was  very  friendly.     What  do  you  think  of  her?" 

"  She  is  an  out-and-out  woman  of  the  world,  and  very 
agreeable,  as  insincere  people  generally  are.  I  like  her  be- 
cause she  was  so  polite  to  you." 

"  Oh,  that  is  your  reading  of  her,  is  it  ?" 

The  rest  of  the  walk  passed  almost  in  silence. 

"  Uncle,  I  am  not  sleepy  to-night." 

"  Who  is  ?  that  young  rascal  has  set  me  on  fire  with  his 
yarns :  who  would  have  thought  that  awkward  cub  had  so 
much  in  him?" 

"  Awkward,  but  not  a  cub ;  say  rather  a  black  swan ; 
and  you  know,  uncle,  a  swan  is  an  awkward  thing  on  land, 
but  when  it  takes  the  water  it  is  glorious,  and  that  man  was 
glorious  ;  but — Da — vid  Do — dd." 

"  I  don't  know  whether  he  was  glorious,  but  I  know  he 
amused  me,  and  I'll  have  him  to  tea  three  times  a  week 
while  he  lasts." 

"  Uncle,  do  you  believe  such  an  unfortunate  combination 
of  sounds  is  his  real  name  ?"  asked  Lucy,  gravely. 

"  Why,  who  would  be  mad  enough  to  feign  such  a 
name?" 

"  That  is  true ;  but  now  tell  me — if  he  should  ever  think 
of  marrying  with  such  a  name  ?" 

"  Then  there  will  be  two  David  Dodds  in  the  world,  Mr. 
and  Mrs." 


IX) VE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  59 

"I  don't  think  so;  he  will  be  merciful,  and  take  her 
name  instead  of  she  his :  he  is  so  good-natured." 

"  Ordinary  sponsors  would  have  been  content  with  Sam- 
uel or  Nathan ;  but  no,  this  one's  must  call  in  'apt  alliter- 
ation's artful  aid,'  and  have  the  two  '  d's.' " 

Lucy  assented  with  a  smile,  and  so,  being  no  longer  under 
the  spell  of  the  enthusiast  and  the  male,  the  genealogist  and 
the  fine  lady  took  the  rise  out  of  what  Miss  Fountain  was 
pleased  to  call  his  im-possible  title, 

Da— vid         Dodd. 

Lucy  was  not  called  on  to  write  any  more  formal  invita- 
tions to  Mr.  Talboys.  Her  uncle  used  merely  to  say  to  her, 
"  Talboys  dines  with  us  to-day."  She  made  no  remark ; 
she  respected  her  uncle's  preference;  besides — the  pony! 
Of  these  trios  Mr.  Fountain  was  the  true  soul.  He  had  to 
blow  the  coals  of  conversation  right  and  left.  It  is  very 
good  of  me  not  to  compare  him  to  the  Tropic  between  two 
frigid  zones.  At  first  he  took  his  nap  as  usual ;  for  he  said 
to  himself,  "Now  I  have  started  them  they  can  go  on." 
Besides,  he  had  seen  pictures  in  the  shop  windows  of  an  old 
fellow  dozing,  and  then  the  young  ones  "  popping." 

Dozing  off  with  this  idea  uppermost,  he  used  to  wake 
with  his  eyes  shut  and  his  ears  wide  open ;  but  it  was  to 
hear  drowsy  monosyllables  dropping  out  at  intervals  like 
minute-guns,  or  to  find  Lucy  gone  and  Talboys  reading  the 
coals.  Then  the  schemer  sighed,  and  took  to  strong  coffee 
soon  after  dinner,  and  gave  up  his  nap,  and  its  loss  impaired 
his  temper  the  rest  of  the  evening. 

He  indemnified  himself  for  these  sleepless  dinners  by  ask- 
ing David  Dodd  and  his  sister  to  tea  thrice  a  week  on  the 
off-nights :  this  joyous  pair  amused  the  old  gentleman,  and 
he  was  not  the  man  to  deny  himself  a  pleasure  without  a 
powerful  motive. 

"  What,  again  so  soon "?"  hazarded  Lucy  one  day  that  he 
bade  her  invite  them.  "  I  hardly  know  how  to  word  my 
invitation  ;  I  have  exhausted  the  forms." 


60  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  If  you  say  another  word,  I'll  make  them  come  every 
night.  Am  I  to  have  no  amusement  ?"  he  added,  in  a  deep 
tone  of  reproach  ;  "  they  make  me  laugh." 

"  Ah !  I  forgot ;  forgive  me." 

"  Little  hypocrite ;  don't  they  you  too,  pray  ?  Why,  you 
are  as  dull  as  ditch-water  the  other  evenings." 

"  Me,  dear,  dull  with  you  V 

"Yes,  Miss  Crocodile,  dull  with  a  pattern  uncle  and  his 
friend — and  your  admirer."  He  watched  her  to  see  how 
she  would  take  this  last  word.  Catch  her  taking  it  at  all. 
"  I  am  never  dull  with  you,  dear  uncle,"  said  she,  "  but  a 
third  person,  however  estimable,  is  a  certain  restraint,  and 
when  that  person  is  not  very  lively — "  Here  the  explana- 
tion came  quietly  to  an  untimely  end,  like  those  old  tunes 
that  finish  in  the  middle  or  thereabouts. 

"But  that  is  the  very  thing;  what  do  I  ask  them  for  to- 
night but  to  thaw  Talboysf 

"  To  thaw  Talboys  ?  he !  he !"  Lucy  seemed  so  tickled  by 
this  expression  that  the  old  gentleman  was  sorry  he  had  used  it. 

"I  mean,  they  will  make  him  laugh;"  then,  to  turn  it 
off,  he  said  hastily,  "  And  don't  forget  the  fiddle,  Lucy." 

"  Oh  yes,  dear,  please  let  me  forget  that,  and  then  per- 
haps they  may  forget  to  bring  it." 

"  Why,  you  pressed  him  to  bring  it ;  I  heard  you." 

"  Did  I  ?"  said  Lucy,  ruefully. 

"  I  am  sure  I  thought  you  were  mad  after  a  fiddle,  you 
seconded  Eve  so  warmly ;  so  that  was  only  your  extrava- 
gant politeness,  after  all.  I  am  glad  you  are  caught.  I 
like  a  fiddle,  so  there  is  no  harm  done." 

Yes,  reader,  you  have  hit  it.  Eve,  who  openly  quizzed 
her  brother,  but  secretly  adored  him,  and  loved  to  display 
all  his  accomplishments,  had  egged  on  Mr.  Fountain  to  ask 
David  to  bring  his  violin  next  time.  Lucy  had  shivered  in- 
ternally. "  Now  of  all  the  screeching,  whining  things  that 
I  dislike,  a  violin !" — and  thus  thinking,  gushed  out,  "  Oh 
pray  do,  Mr.  Dodd,"  with  a  gentle  warmth  that  settled  the 
matter  and  imposed  on  all  around 


61 

This  evening,  then,  the  Dodds  came  to  tea. 

They  found  Lucy  alone  in  the  drawing-room,  and  Eve 
engaged  her  directly  in  sprightly  conversation,  into  which 
they  soon  drew  David,  and,  interchanging  a  secret  signal, 
plied  him  with  a  few  artful  questions,  and — launched  him. 
But  the  one  sketch  I  gave  of  his  manner  and  matter  must 
serve  again  and  again.  Were  I  to  retail  to  the  reader  all 
the  droll,  the  spirited,  the  exciting  things  he  told  his  hear- 
ers, there  would  be  no  room  for  my  own  little  story;  and 
we  are  all  so  egotistical !  Suffice  it  to  say,  the  living  book 
of  travels  was  inexhaustible ;  his  observation  and  memory 
were  really  marvelous,  and  his  enthusiasm,  coupled  with  his 
accuracy  of  detail,  had  still  the  power  to  inthrall  his  hearers. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  Lucy,  "  now  I  see  why  Eastern  kings 
have  a  story-teller  always  about  them — a  live  story-teller : 
would  not  you  have  one,  Miss  Dodd,  if  you  were  Queen  of 
Persia  ?" 

"  "Me?     I'd  have  a  couple:  one  to  make  me  laugh,  one 
miserable." 

"  One  would  be  enough  if  his  resources  were  equal  to 
your  brother's.  Pray  go  on,  Mr.  Dodd.  It  was  madness 
to  interrupt  you  with  small  talk." 

David  hung  his  head  a  moment,  then  lifted  it  with  a  smile, 
and  sailed  in  the  spirit  into  the  China  seas,  and  there  told 
them  how  the  Chinamen  used  to  slip  on  board  his  ship  and 
steal  with  supernatural  dexterity,  and  the  sailors  catch  them 
by  the  tails,  which  they  observing,  came  ever  with  their 
tails  soaped  like  pigs  at  a  village  feast ;  and  how  some  fool- 
hardy sailors  would  venture  into  the  town  at  the  risk  of 
their  lives;  and  how  one  day  they  had  to  run  for  it,  and 
when  they  got  to  the  shore  their  boat  was  stolen,  and  they 
had  to  'bout  ship  and  fight  it  out,  and  one  fellow  who  knew 
the  natives  had  loaded  the  sailors'  guns  with  currant-jelly. 
Make  ready — present — fire !  In  a  moment  the  troops  of 
the  Celestial  Empire  smarted,  and  were  spattered  with  seem- 
ing gore,  and  fled  yelling. 

Then  he  told  how  a  poor  comrade  of  his  was  nabbed  and 


62  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

clapped  in  prison,  and  his  hands  and  feet  were  to  be  cut  off 
at  sunrise  ;  himself  ut  noon.  It  was  midnight,  and  strict 
orders  from  the  quarter-deck  had  been  issued  that  no  man 
should  leave  the  ship:  what  was  to  be  done?  It  was  a 
moonlight  night.  They  met,  silent  as  death,  between  decks 
— daren't  speak  above  a  whisper,  for  fear  the  officers  should 
hear  them.  His  messmate  was  crying  like  a  child.  One 
proposed  one  thing,  one  another;  but  it  was  all  nonsense, 
and  we  knew  it  was,  and  at  sunrise  poor  Tom  must  die. 

At  last  up  jumps  one  fellow,  and  cries,  "  Messmates,  I've 
got  it ;  Tom  isn't  dead  yet !" 

This  was  the  moment  Mr.  Fountain  and  Mr.  Talboys 
chose  for  coming  into  the  drawing-room,  of  course.  Mr. 
Fountain,  with  a  shade  of  hesitation  and  awkwardness,  in- 
troduced the  Dodds  to  Mr.  Talboys  :  he  bowed  a  little  stiffly, 
and  there  was  a  pause.  Eve  could  not  repress  a  little  move- 
ment of  nervous  impatience.  "David  is  telling  us  one  of 
his  nonsensical  stories,  sir,"  said  she  to  Mr.  Fountain,  "  and 
it  is  so  interesting ;  go  on,  David." 

"Well,  but,"  said  David,  modestly,  "it  isn't  every  body 
that  likes  these  sea-yarns  as  you  do,  Eve.  No,  I'll  belay, 
and  let  my  betters  get  a  word  in  now." 

"  You  are  more  merciful  than  most  story-tellers,  sir,"  said 
Talboys. 

Eve  tossed  her  head  and  looked  at  Lucy,  who  with  a 
word  could  have  the  story  go  on  again.  That  young  lady's 
face  expressed  general  complacency,  politeness,  and  "  tout 
m'est  egal"  Eve  could  have  beat  her  for  not  taking  David's 
part.  "  Double  face !"  thought  she.  She  then  devoted  her- 
self with  the  sly  determination  of  her  sex  to  trotting  David 
out,  and  making  him  the  principal  figure  in  spite  of  the  new- 
comer. 

But,  as  fast  as  she  heated  him,  Talboys  cooled  him.  We 
are  all  great  at  something  or  other,  small  or  great.  Tal- 
boys was  a  first-rate  freezer.  He  was  one  of  those  men  who 
can  not  shine,  but  can  eclipse.  They  darken  all  but  a  vain 
man  by  casting  a  dark  shadow  of  trite  sentences  on  each 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  63 

luminary.  The  vain  man  insults  them  directly,  and  so  gets 
rid  of  them. 

Talbays  kept  coming  across  honest  enthusiastic  David 
with  little  remarks,  each  skillfully  discordant  with  the  ris- 
ing sentiment.  Was  he  droll,  Talboys  did  a  bit  of  polite 
gravity  on  him  ;  was  he  warm  in  praise  of  some  gallant  ac- 
tion, chill  irony  trickled  on  him  from  T. 

His  flashes  of  romance  were  extinguished  by  neat  little 
dicta,  embodying  sordid  and  false,  but  current  views  of  life. 
The  gauze  wings  of  eloquence,  unsteeled  by  vanity,  will  not 
bear  this  repeated  dabbing  with  prose  glue,  so  David  col- 
lapsed and  Talboys  conquered — "  spell"  benumbed  ''charm." 
The  sea-wizard  yielded  to  the  petrifier,  and  "could  no  more," 
as  the  poets  say.  Talboys  smiled  superior.  But,  as  his  art 
was  a  purely  destructive  one,  it  ended  with  its  victim  ;  not 
having  an  idea  of  his  own  in  his  skull,  the  commentator,  in 
silencing  his  text,  silenced  himself,  and  brought  the  society 
to  a  stand-still.  Eve  sat  with  flashing  eyes ;  Lucy's  twink- 
led with  sly  fun :  this  made  Eve  angrier.  She  tried  anoth- 
er tack. 

"  You  asked  David  to  bring  his  fiddle,"  said  she,  sharply, 
"  but  I  suppose  now — " 

"Has  he  brought  it?"  asked  Mr.  Fountain,  eagerly. 

"  Yes,  he  has ;  I  made  him"  (with  a  glance  of  defiance  at 
Talboys). 

Mr.  Fountain  rang  the  bell  directly  and  sent  for  the  fiddle. 
It  came  ;  David  took  it,  and  tuned  it,  and  made  it  discourse. 
Lucy  leaned  a  little  back  in  her  chair,  and  wore  her  "tout 
m'est  egal  face,"  and  Eve  watched  her  like  a  cat.  First  her 
eyes  opened  with  a  mild  astonishment,  then  her  lips  parted 
in  a  smile ;  after  a  while  a  faint  color  came  and  went,  and 
her  eyes  deepened  and  deepened  in  color,  and  glistened  with 
the  dewy  light  of  sensibility. 

A  fiddle  wrought  this,  or  rather  genius,  in  whose  hand  a 
jew's-harp  is  the  lyre  of  Orpheus,  a  fiddle  the  harp  of  David, 
a  chisel  a  hewer  of  heroic  forms,  a  brush  or  a  pen  the  scep- 
tre of  souls,  and,  alas !  a  nail  a  picklock. 


64  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

Inside  every  fiddle  is  a  eoul,  but  a  coy  one.  The  nine 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  never  win  it.  They  play  rapid 
tunes,  but  the  soul  of  beautiful  gayety  is  not  there ;  slow 
tunes,  very  slow  ones,  wherein  the  spirit  of  whining  is 
mighty,  but  the  sweet  soul  of  pathos  is  absent ;  doleful, 
not  nice  and  tearful.  Then  conies  the  Heaven-born  fid- 
dler,* who  can  make  himself  cry  with  his  own  fiddle.  Da- 
vid had  a  touch  of  this  witchcraft.  Though  a  sound  mu- 
sician and  reasonably  master  of  his  instrument,  he  could 
not  fly  in  a  second  up  and  down  it,  tickling  the  finger- 
board, and  scratching  the  strings  without  an  atom  of  tone, 
as  the  mechanical  monkeys  do  that  boobies  call  fine  players. 
"  Great  Orpheus  played  so  well  he  moved  Old  Nick, 

But  these  move  nothing  but  their  fiddle-stick. "f 
But  he  could  make  you  laugh  and  crow  with  his  fiddle,  and 
could  make  you  jump  up,  setat.  GO,  and  snap  your  fingers  at 
old  age  and  propriety,  and  propose  a  jig  to  two  bishops  and 
one  master  of  the  rolls,  and  they  declining,  pity  them  with- 
out a  shade  of  anger,  and  substitute  three  chairs ;  then  sit 
unabashed  and  smiling  at  the  past ;  and  the  next  minute 
he  could  make  you  cry,  or  near  it.  In  a  word,  he  could 
evoke  the  soul  of  that  wonderful  wooden  shell,  and  bid  it 
discourse  with  the  souls  and  hearts  of  his  hearers. 

Meantime  Lucy  Fountain's  face  would  have  interested  a 
subtle  student  of  her  sex. 

Her  sensibility  to  music  was  great,  and  the  feeling 
strains  stole  into  her  nature,  and  stirred  the  treasures  of 
the  deep  to  the  surface.  Eve,  a  keen  if  not  a  profound  ob- 
server, was  struck  by  the  rising  beauty  of  this  countenance, 
over  which  so  many  moods  chased  one  another.  She  said 
to  herself,  "  Well,  David  is  right,  after  all ;  she  is  a  lovely 
girl.  Her  features  are  nothing  out  of  the  way.  Her  nose 

*  This  is  a  definition  of  the  Heaven-born  fiddler  by  Pate  Bailey, 
a  pipsy  tinker  and  celestial  violinist.  Being  asked  for  a  test  of  pro- 
ficiency on  that  instrument,  he  replied  that  no  man  is  a  fiddler  "till 
he  can  gar  himsel  greet  wi  a  feddle." 

t  Sec  how  unjust  satire  is !     Don't  they  move  their  finger-nails? 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  65 

is  neither  one  thing  nor  the  other,  but  her  expression  is 
beautiful.  None  of  your  wooden  faces  for  me.  And,  dear 
heart,  how  her  neck  rises!  La!  how  her  color  comes  and 
goes !  Well,  I  do  love  the  fiddle  myself  dearly  ;  and  now, 
if  her  eyes  are  not  brimming ;  I  could  kiss  her !  La !  Da- 
vid," cried  she,  bursting  the  bonds  of  silence,  "  that  is 
enough  of  the  tune  the  old  cow  died  of;  take  and  play 
something  to  keep  our  hearts  up — do." 

Eve's  good-humor  and  mirth  were  restored  by  David's 
success,  and  now  nothing  would  serve  her  turn  but  a  duet, 
piano-forte  and  violin.  Miss  Fountain  objected,  "Why 
spoil  the  violin"?"  David  objected  too,  "I  had  hoped  to 
hear  the  piano-forte,  and  how  can  I  with  a  fiddle  sounding 
under  my  chin?"  Eve  overruled. both  peremptorily. 

"  Well,  Miss  Dodd,  what  shall  we  select  ?  But  it  does 
not  matter;  I  feel  sure  Mr.  Dodd  can  play  a  livre  ouvert" 

"  Not  he,"  said  Eve,  hypocritically,  being  secretly  con- 
vinced he  could.  "  Can  you  play  '  a  leevre  ouvert,'  David  T' 

"Who  is  it  by,  Miss  Fountain?"  Lucy  never  moved  a 
muscle. 

After  a  rummage  a  duet  was  found  that  looked  promis- 
ing, and  the  performance  began. 

In  the  middle  David  stopped. 

"  Ha !  ha !  David's  broke  down,"  shrieked  Eve,  conceal- 
ing her  uneasiness  under  fictitious  gayety.  "  I  thought  he 
would." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  explained  David  to  Miss  Fountain, 
"  but  you  are  out  of  time." 

"  Am  I  ?"  said  Lucy,  composedly. 

"  And  have  been  more  or  less  all  through." 

"  David,  you  forget  yourself." 

"No,  no  ;  set  me  right,  by  all  means,  Mr.  Dodd.  I  am 
not  a  hardened  offender." 

"  Is  it  not  just  possible  the  violin  may  be  the  instrument 
that  is  out  of  time  ?"  suggested  Talboys,  insidiously. 

"  No,"  said  David,  simply,  "  I  was  right  enough." 

"  Let  us  try  again,  Mr.  Dodd.  Play  me  a  few  bars  first 
in  exact  time.  Thank  you.  Now." 


66  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"All  went  merry  as  a  marriage  bell"  for  a  page  and  a 
half;  then  David,  h'ddling  away,  cried  out,  "You  are  get- 
ting too  fast,  'ritura  tiddy  iddy  ri  turn  ti ;' "  then,  by 
stamping  and  accenting  very  strongly,  he  kept  the  piano 
from  overflowing  its  bounds.  The  piece  ended.  Eve  rub- 
bed her  hands.  "Now  you'll  catch  it,  Mr.  David  !" 

"  I  am  afraid  I  gave  you  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  Mr. 
Dodd." 

"En  revanche,  you  gave  us  a  great  deal  of  pleasure,"  put 
in  Mr.  Talboys. 

Lucy  turned  her  head  and  smiled  graciously.  "But  pi- 
ano-forte players  play  so  much  by  themselves,  they  really 
forget  the  awful  importance  of  time." 

"  I  profit  by  your  confession  that  they  do  sometimes  play 
by  themselves,"  said  Mr.  Talboys  :  "  be  merciful,  and  let  us 
hear  you  by  yourself."  Eve  turned  as  red  as  fire. 

David  backed  the  request  sincerely. 

Lucy  played  a  piece  composed  expressly  for  the  piano  by 
a  pianist  of  the  day.  David  sat  on  her  left  hand,  and 
watched  intently  how  she  did  it. 

When  it  was  over,  Talboys  did  a  bit  of  rapture ;  Eve  an- 
other. 

"  That  is  playing." 

"  I  would  not  have  believed  it  if  I  had  not  seen  it  done," 
said  David.  "  Eve,  you  should  have  seen  her  beautiful 
fingers  thread  in  and  out  among  the  keys  ;  it  was  like  white 
fire  dancing ;  and  as  for  her  hand,  it  is  not  troubled  with 
joints  like  ours.  I  should  say." 

"  The  music,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  Lucy,  severely. 

"  Oh,  the  music !  Well,  I  could  hardly  take  on  me  to 
say.  You  see  I  heard  it  by  the  eye,  and  that  was  all  in  its 
favor;  but  I  should  say  the  music  wasn't  worth  a  button." 

"  David !" 

"  How  you  run  off  with  one's  words,  Eve — I  mean,  play- 
ed by  any  body  but  her.  Why,  what  was  it,  when  you 
come  to  think1?  up  and  down  the  gamut,  and  then  down 
and  up.  No  more  sense  in  it  than  a  b  c — a  scramble  to 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          67 

the  main-mast  head  for  nothing,  and  back  to  no  good.  I'd 
as  lief  see  you  play  on  the  table,  Miss  Fountain." 

"Poor  Moscheles!"  said  Lucy,  dryly. 

"  Revenge  is  in  your  power,"  said  Talboys ;  "  play  no 
more ;  punish  us  all  for  this  one  heretic." 

Lucy  reflected  a  moment:  she  then  took  from  the  can- 
terbury a  thick  old  book.  "  This  was  my  mother's.  Her 
taste  was  pure  in  music,  as  in  every  thing.  I  shall  be  sorry 
if  you  do  not  all  like  this,"  added  she,  softly. 

It  was  an  old  mass ;  full,  magnificent  chords  in  long  suc- 
cession, strung  together  on  a  clear  but  delicate  melody. 
She  played  it  to  perfection :  her  lovely  hands  seemed  to 
grasp  the  chords.  No  fumbling  in  the  base ;  no  gelatiniz- 
ing in  the  treble.  Her  touch,  firm  and  masterly,  yet  femi- 
nine, evoked  the  soul  of  her  instrument,  as  David  had  of 
his,  and  she  thought  of  her  mother  as  she  played.  These 
were  those  golden  strains  from  which  all  mortal  dross 
seems  purged.  Hearing  them  so  played,  you  could  not 
realize  that  he  who  writ  them  had  ever  eaten,  drunk, 
smoked,  snuiFed,  and  hated  the  composer  next  door.  She 
who  played  them  felt  their  majesty  and  purity.  She  lifted 
her  beaming  eye  to  heaven  as  she  played,  and  the  color  re- 
ceded from  her  cheek ;  and  when  her  enchantment  ended 
she  was  silent,  and  all  were  silent,  and  their  ears  ached  for 
the  departed  charm. 

Then  she  looked  round  a  mute  inquiry. 

Talboys  applauded  loudly. 

But  the  tear  stood  in  David's  eye,  and  he  said  nothing. 

"Well,  David,"  said  Eve,  reproachfully,  "I'm  sure,  if 
that  does  not  please  you — " 

"  Please  me,"  cried  David,  a  little  fretfully ;  "  more  shame 
for  me  if  it  does  not.  Please  is  not  the  word.  It  is  angel- 
music,  I  call  it — ah  !" 

"Well,  you  need  not  break  your  heart  for  that:  he  is 
going  to  cry — ha !  ha !" 

"  I'm  no  such  thing,"  cried  David,  indignantly,  and  blew 
his  nose — promptly,  with  a  vague  air  of  explanation  and 
defiance. 


68  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

But  why  the  male  of  my  species  blows  its  nose  to  hide 
its  sensibility  a  deeper  than  I  must  decide. 

Mr.  Talboys  for  some  time  had  not  been  at  his  ease.  He 
had  been  playing  too,  and  an  instrument  he  hated — second 
fiddle.  He  rose  and  joined  Mr.  Fountain,  who  was  sitting 
half  awake  on  a  distant  sofa. 

"Aha!"  thought  Eve,  exulting,  "we  have  driven  him 
away." 

Judge  her  mortification  when  Lucy,  after  shutting  the 
piano,  joined  her  uncle  and  Mr.  Talboys.  Eve  whispered 
David,  "  Gone  to  smooth  him  down :  the  high  and  mighty 
gentleman  wasn't  made  enough  of." 

"  Every  one  in  their  turn,"  said  David  calmly ;  "  that  is 
manners.  Look !  it  is  the  old  gentleman  she  is  being  kind 
to.  She  could  not  be  unkind  to  any  one  however." 

Eve  put  her  lips  to  David's  ear :  "  She  will  be  unkind  to 
you  if  you  are  ever  mad  enough  to  let  her  see  what  I  see," 
said  she,  in  a  cutting  whisper. 

"  What  do  you  see  ?  More  than  there  is  to  see,  I'll  wa- 
ger," said  David,  looking  down. 

"  Ah !  that  is  the  way  with  young  men :  the  moment 
they  take  a  fancy  their  sister  is  nothing  to  them,  their  best 
friend  loses  their  confidence." 

"  Don't  ye  say  that,  Eve — now  don't  say  that!" 

"  No,  no,  David,  never  mind  me.  I  am  cross.  And  if 
you  saw  a  sore  heart  in  store  for  any  one  you  had  a  regard 
for,  wouldn't  you  be  cross  ?  Young  men  are  so  stupid,  they 
can't  read  a  girl  no  more  than  Hebrew ;  if  she  is  civil  and 
affable  to  them,  oh !  they  are  the  man  directly,  when,  instead 
of  that,  if  it  was  so,  she  would  more  likely  be  shy,  and  half 
afraid  to  come  near  them.  David,  you  are  in  a  fool's  par- 
adise. In  company,  and  even  in  flirtation,  all  sorts  meet 
and  part  again  ;  but  it  isn't  so  with  marriage.  There  'it 
is  beasts  of  a  kind  that  in  one  are  joined,  and  birds  of  a 
feather  that  come  together.'  Like  to  like,  David.  She  is 
a  fine  lady,  and  she  will  marry  a  fine  gentleman,  and  noth- 
ing else,  with  a  large  income.  If  she  knew  what  has  been 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  69 

in  your  head  this  month  past,  she  would  open  her  eyes,  and 
ask  if  the  man  was  mad." 

"  She  has  a  right  to  look  down  on  me,  I  know,"  mur- 
mured David,  humbly,  "  but"  (his  eye  glowing  with  sudden 
rapture)  "  she  doesn't — she  doesn't." 

"  Look  down  on  you !  You  are  better  company  than 
she  is,  or  any  one  she  can  get  in  this  out-of-the-way  place : 
it  is  her  interest  to  be  civil  to  you.  I  am  too  hard  upon 
her.  She  is  a  lady — a  perfect  lady,  and  that  is  why  she  is 
above  giving  herself  airs.  No,  David,  she  is  not  the  one  to 
treat  us  with  disrespect,  if  we  don't  forget  ourselves.  But 
if  ever  you  let  her  see  that  you  are  in  love  with  her,  you 
will  get  an  affront  that  will  make  your  cheek  burn  and 
my  heart  smart :  so  I  tell  you." 

"  Hush  !  I  never  told  you  I  was  in  love  with  her." 

"  Never  told  me  ?  Never  told  me  1  Who  asked  you  to 
tell  me  7  I  have  eyes,  if  you  have  none." 

"Eve,"  said  David,  imploringly,  "I  don't  hear  of  any 
lover  that  she  has.  Do  you  ?" 

"No,"  said  Eve,  carelessly.  "But  who  knows?  She 
passes  half  the  year  a  hundred  miles  from  this,  and  there 
are  young  men  every  where.  If  she  was  a  milk-maid,  they'd 
turn  to  look  at  her  with  such  a  face  and  figure  as  that, 
much  more  a  young  lady  with  every  grace  and  every  charm. 
She  has  more  than  one  after  her  that  we  never  see,  take  my 
word." 

Eve  had  no  sooner  said  this  than  she  regretted  it,  for  Da- 
vid's face  quivered,  and  he  sighed  like  one  trying  to  recover 
his  breath  after  a  terrible  blow. 

What  made  this  and  the  succeeding  conversation  the  more 
trying  and  peculiar  was  that  the  presence  of  other  persons 
in  the  room,  though  at  a  considerable  distance,  compelled 
both  brother  and  sister,  though  any  thing  but  calm,  to  speak 
sotto  voce.  But  in  the  history  of  mankind  more  strange  and 
incongruous  matter  has  been  dealt  with  in  an  under  tone, 
and  with  artificial  and  forced  calmness. 

"  My  poor  David !"  said  Eve,  sorrowfully ;   "  you  who 


70  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

used  to  be  so  proud,  so  high-spirited,  be  a  man!  Don't 
throw  away  such  a  treasure  as  your  affection.  For  my 
sake,  dear  David,  your  sister's  sake,  who  does  love  you  so 
very,  very  dearly !" 

"  And  I  love  you,  Eve.  Thank  you.  It  was  hard  lines. 
Ah!  But  it  is  wholesome,  no  doubt,  like  most  bitters. 
Yes.  Thank  you,  Eve.  I  do  admire  her  v-very  much," 
and  his  voice  faltered  a  little.  "  But  I  am  a  man  for  all 
that,  and  I'll  stand  to  my  own  words.  I'll  never  be  any 
woman's  slave." 

"  That  is  right,  David." 

"  I  will  not  give  hot  for  cold,  nor  my  heart  for  a  smile  or 
two.  I  can't  help  admiring  her,  and  I  do  hope  she  will  be 
— happy — ah  ! — whoever  she  fancies.  But,  if  I  am  never 
to  command  her,  I  won't  carry  a  willow  at  my  mast-head, 
and  drift  away  from  reason  and  manhood,  and  my  duty  to 
you,  and  mother,  and  myself." 

"  Ah  !  David,  if  you  could  see  how  noble  you  look  now. 
Is  it  a  promise,  David  ?  for  I  know  you  will  keep  your  word 
if  once  you  pass  it." 

"  There  is  my  hand  on  it,  Eve." 

The  brother  and  sister  grasped  hands,  and  when  David 
was  about  to  withdraw  his,  Eve's  soft  but  vigorous  little 
hand  closed  tighter  and  kept  it  firmer,  and  so  they  sat  in 
silence. 

"Eve." 

«  My  dear !" 

"  Now  don't  you  be  cross." 

"  No,  dear.     Eve  is  sad,  not  cross ;  what  is  it  ?" 

"  Well,  Eve— dear  Eve." 

"  Don't  be  afraid  to  speak  your  mind  to  me — why  should 
you  ?" 

"  Well,  then,  Eve,  now,  if  she  had  not  some  little  kind- 
ness for  me,  would  she  be  so  pleased  with  these  thundering 
yarns  I  keep  spinning  her,  as  old  as  Adam,  and  as  stale  as 
bilge-water?  You  that  are  so  keen,  how  comes  it  you  don't 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONG.  71 

notice  her  eyes  at  these  times  ?  I  feel  them  shine  on  me 
like  a  couple  of  suns.  They  would  make  a  statue  pay  the 
yarn  out.  Who  ever  fancied  my  chat  as  she  does  ?" 

"  David,"  said  Eve,  quietly,  "  I  have  thought  of  all  this  ; 
but  I  am  convinced  now  there  is  nothing  in  it.  You  see, 
David,  mother  and  I  are  used  to  your  yarns,  and  so  we  take 
them  as  a  matter  of  course ;  but  the  real  fact  is,  they  are 
very  interesting  and  very  enticing,  and  you  tell  them  like  a. 
book.  You  came  all  fresh  to  this  lady,  and  as  she  is  very 
quick,  she  had  the  wit  to  see  the  merit  of  your  descriptions 
directly.  I  can  see  it  myself  now.  All  young  women  like 
to  be  amused,  David,  and,  above  all,  excited;  and  your  sto- 
ries are  very  exciting :  that  is  the  charm ;  that  is  what 
makes  her  eyes  fire ;  but  if  that  puppy  there,  or  that  book- 
shelf yonder,  could  tell  her  your  stories,  she  would  look  at 
either  the  puppy  or  the  book-stand  with  just  the  same  eyes 
she  looks  on  you  with,  my  poor  David." 

"  Don't  say  so,  Eve.  Let  me  think  there  is  some  little 
feeling  for  me  inside  those  sweet  eyes,  that  look  so  kind  on 
me—" 

"  And  on  me,  and  on  every  body.  It  is  her  manner.  I 
tell  you  she  is  so  to  all  the  world.  She  isn't  the  first  I've 
met.  Trust  me  to  read  a  woman,  David;  what  can  you 
know  ?" 

"  I  know  nothing ;  but  they  tell  me  you  can  fathom  one 
another  better  than  any  man  ever  could,"  said  David,  sor- 
rowfully. 

"David,  just  now  you  were  telling  as  interesting  a  story 
as  ever  was.  You  had  just  got  to  the  thrilling  part." 

"  Oh !  had  1 7     What  was  I  saying  ?" 

"  I  can't  tell  you  to  the  very  word :  I  am  not  your  sweet- 
heart any  more  than  she  is ;  but  one  of  the  sailors  was  in 
danger  of  his  life,  and  so  on.  You  never  told  me  the  stoiy 
before :  I  was  not  worth  it.  Well,  just  then  does  not  that 
affected  puppy  choose  his  time  to  come  meandering  in  1" 

"  Puppy  !     I  call  him  a  fine  gentleman." 

"Well,  there  isn't  so  much  odds.     In  he  comes:  your 


72  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG- 

story  is  broken  off  directly.  Does  she  care "?  No,  she  has 
got  one  of  her  own  set :  he  is  not  a  very  bright  one ;  he  is 
next  door  to  a  fool.  No  matter  ;  before  he  came,  to  judge 
by  her  crocodile  eyes,  she  was  hot  after  your  story ;  the 
moment  he  did  come,  she  didn't  care  a  pin  for  you  nor  your 
stoiy.  I  gave  her  more  than  one  opening  to  bring  it  on 
again ;  not  she.  I  tell  you  you  are  nothing  but  a  pass 
time  ;*  you  suit  her  turn  so  long  as  none  of  her  own  set  are 
to  be  had.  If  she  would  leave  you  for  such  a  jackanapes 
as  that,  what  would  she  do  for  a  real  gentleman  ?  such  a 
man  as  she  is  a  woman,  for  instance,  and  as  if  there  weren't 
plenty  such  in  her  own  set — oh  you  goose !" 

David  interrupted  her.  "I  have  been  a  vain  fool,  and 
it  is  lucky  no  one  has  seen  it  but  you,"  and  he  hid  his  face 
in  his  hands  a  moment ;  then,  suddenly  remembering  where 
he  was,  and  that  this  was  an  attitude  to  attract  attention, 
he  tried  to  laugh — a  piteous  effort ;  then  he  ground  his  teeth 
and  said,  "  Let  us  go  home.  All  I  want  now  is  to  get  out 
of  the  house.  It  would  have  been  better  for  me  if  I  had 
never  set  foot  in  it." 

"  Hush  !  be  calm,  David,  for  Heaven's  sake.  I  am  only 
waiting  to  catch  her  eye,  and  then  we'll  bid  them  good-even- 
ing." 

"  Very  well,  I'll  wait ;"  and  David  fixed  his  eyes  sadly 
and  doggedly  on  the  ground.  "I  won't  look  at  her  if  I  can 
help  it,"  said  he,  resolutely,  but  very  sadly,  and  turned  his 
head  away. 

"  Now  David,"  whispered  Eve. 

David  rose  mechanically  and  moved  with  his  sister  to- 
ward the  other  group.  Miss  Fountain  turned  at  their  ap- 
proach. Somewhat  to  David's  surprise,  Eve  retreated  as 
quietly  as  she  had  advanced. 

"  We  are  to  stay." 

"What  for?" 

"  She  made  me  a  signal." 

"  Not  that  I  saw,"  said  David,  incredulously. 

*  I  write  this  word  as  the  lady  thought  proper  to  pronounce  it. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          73 

"  What !  didn't  you  see  her  give  me  a  look  *" 

"  Yes,  I  did.     But  what  has  that  to  do  with  it  ?" 

"  That  look  was  as  much  as  to  say,  Please  stay  a  little 
longer ;  I  have  something  to  say  to  you." 

"  Good  Heavens !" 

"  I  think  it  is  about  a  bonnet,  David.  I  asked  her  to  put 
me  in  the  way  of  getting  one  made  like  hers.  She  does 
wear  heavenly  bonnets." 

"  Ay.  I  did  well  to  listen  to  you,  Eve ;  you  see  I  can't 
even  read  her  face,  much  less  her  heart.  I  saw  her  look  up, 
but  that  was  all.  How  is  a  poor  fellow  to  make  out  such 
craft  as  these,  that  can  signal  one  another  a  whole  page  with 
a  flash  of  the  eye  ?  Ah  !" 

"  There,  David,  he  is  going.     Was  I  right  *?" 

Mr.  Talboys  was  in  fact  taking  leave  of  Miss  Fountain. 
The  old  gentleman  convoyed  his  friend.  As  the  door  closed 
on  them  Miss  Fountain's  face  seemed  to  catch  fire.  Her 
sweet  complacency  gave  way  to  a  half  joyous,  half  irritated 
small  energy.  She  came  gliding  swiftly,  though  not  hur- 
riedly, up -to  Eve :  "  Thank  you  for  seeing."  Then  she  set- 
tled softly  and  gradually  on  an  ottoman,  saying,  "  Now,  Mr. 
Dodd." 

David  looked  puzzled.  "  What  is  it  ?"  and  he  turned  to 
his  interpreter  Eve. 

But  it  was  Lucy  who  replied,  "  '  His  messmate  was  cry- 
ing like  a  child.  At  sunrise  poor  Tom  must  die.  Then  up 
rose  one  fellow'  (we  have  not  any  idea  who  one  fellow 
means  in  these  narratives — have  we,  Miss  Dodd?)  'and 
cried,  "I  have  it,  messmates.  Tom  isn't  dead  yet."'  Now, 
Mr.  Dodd,  between  that  sentence  and  the  one  that  is  to  fol- 
low, all  that  has  happened  in  this  room  was  a  hideous  dream; 
on  that  understanding  we  have  put  up  with  it ;  it  is  now 
happily  dispersed,  and  we — go  ahead  again." 

"  I  see,  Eve,  she  thinks  she  would  like  some  more  of  that 
China  yarn." 

"  Her  sentiments  are  not  so  tame.  She  longs  for  it, 
thirsts  for  it,  and  must  and  will  have  it — if  you  will  be  so 

D 


74  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME  LONG. 

very  obliging,  Mr.  Dodd."  The  contrast  between  all  this 
singular  vivacity  of  Miss  Fountain  and  the  sudden  return 
to  her  native  character  and  manner  in  the  last  sentence 
struck  the  sister  as  very  droll — seemed  to  the  brother  so 
winning,  that,  scarcely  master  of  himself,  he  burst  out,  "  You 
gha'n't  ask  me  twice  for  that,  or  any  thing  I  can  give  you ;" 
and  it  was  with  burning  cheeks  and  happy  eyes  he  resumed 
his  tale  of  bold  adventure  and  skill  on  one  side,  of  numbers, 
danger,  and  difficulty  on  the  other.  He  told  it  now  like  one 
inspired,  and  both  the  young  ladies  hung  panting  and  glow- 
ing on  his  words. 

David  and  Eve  went  home  together. 

David  was  in  a  triumphant  state,  but  waited  for  Eve  to 
congratulate  him.  Eve  was  silent. 

At  last  David  could  refrain  no  longer.  "  Why,  you  say 
nothing." 

"No.  Common  sense  is  too  good  to  be  wasted  :  don't 
go  so  fast." 

"  No.  There — I  heave-to  for  convoy  to  close  up.  Would 
it  be  wasted  on  me?  ha!  ha!" 

"  To-night.     There  you  go  pelting  on  again." 

"  Eve,  I  can't  help  it.  I  feel  all  canvas,  with  a  cargo  of 
angels'  feathers,  and  sunshine  for  ballast." 

"  Moonshine." 

"  Sun,  moon,  and  stars,  and  all  that  is  bright  by  night  or 
day.  I'll  tell  you  what  to  do :  you  keep  your  head  free,  and 
come  on  under  easy  sail ;  I'll  stand  across  your  bows  with 
every  rag  set  and  drawing,  so  then  I  shall  be  always  within 
hail." 

This  sober-minded  manoeuvre  was  actually  carried  out. 
The  little  corvette  sailed  steadily  down  the  middle  of  the 
lane ;  the  great  merchantman  went  pitching  and  rolling 
across  her  bows :  thus  they  kept  together,  though  their  rates 
of  sailing  were  so  different. 

Merry  Eve  never  laughed  once,  but  she  smiled,  and  then 
sighed. 

David  did  not  heed  her.     All  of  a  moment  his  heart  vent- 


LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME  LONG.  75 

ed  itself  in  a  sea-ditty  so  loud,  and  clear,  and  mellow,  that 
windows  opened,  and  out  came  night-capped  heads  to  hear 
him  carol  the  lusty  stave,  making  night  jolly. 

Meantime,  the  weather  being  balmly,  Mr.  Fountain  had 
walked  slowly  with  Mr.  Talboys  in  another  direction.  Mr. 
Talboys  inquired,  "  Who  were  these  people  ?" 

"  Oh,  only  two  humble  neighbors,"  was  the  reply. 

"  I  never  met  them  any  where.  They  are  received  in  the 
neighborhood "?" 

"  Not  in  society,  of  course." 

"  I  don't  understand  you.    Have  not  I  just  met  them  here?" 

"  That  is  not  the  way  to  put  it,"  said  the  old  gentleman, 
a  little  confused.  "  You  did  not  meet  them ;  you  did  me 
and  my  niece  the  honor  to  dine  with  us,  and  the  Dodds 
dropped  in  to  tea — quite  another  matter." 

«Oh!  isitr 

"  Is  it  not  1  I  see  you  have  been  so  long  out  of  England 
you  have  forgotten  these  little  distinctions;  society  would 
go  to  the  deuce  without  them.  We  ask  our  friends,  and 
persons  of  our  own  class,  to  dinner,  but  we  ask  who  we  like 
to  tea  in  this  county.  Don't  you  like  her?  She  is  the 
prettiest  girl  in  the  village." 

"  Pretty  and  pert." 

" Ha!  ha!  that  is  true.  She  is  saucy  enough,  and  amus- 
ing in  proportion." 

"It  is  the  man  I  alluded  to." 

"  What,  David "?  ay,  a  very  worthy  lad.  He  is  a  down- 
right modest,  well-informed  young  man." 

"  I  don't  doubt  his  general  merits,  but  let  me  ask  you  a 
serious  question:  His  evident  admiration  of  Miss  Fountain?" 

"  His  ad-mi-ration  of  Miss  Fountain  ?" 

"  Is  it  agreeable  to  you  ?" 

"  It  is  a  matter  of  consummate  indifference  to  me." 

"  But  not,  I  think,  to  her.  She  showed  a  submission  to 
the  cub's  impertinence,  and  a  desire  to  please  instead  of  put- 
ting him  down,  that  made  me  suspect.  Do  you  often  ask 
Mr.  Dodd — what  a  name ! — to  tea  1" 


76  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  My  dear  friend,  I  see  that,  with  all  your  accomplish- 
ments, you  have  something  to  learn :  you  want  insight  into 
female  character.  Now  I,  who  must  go  to  school  to  you 
on  most  points,  can  be  of  use  to  you  here  :"  then,  seeing  that 
Talboys  was  mortified  at  being  told  thus  gently  there  was  a 
department  of  learning  he  had  not  fathomed,  he  added,  "  At 
all  events,  I  can  interpret  my  own  niece  to  you.  I  have 
known  her  much  longer  than  you  have." 

Mr.  Talboys  requested  the  interpreter  to  explain  the  pleas- 
ure his  niece  took  in  Mr.  Dodd's  fiddle. 

"Part  politeness,  part  sham.  Why,  she  wanted  not  to 
ask  them  this  evening,  the  fiddle  especially.  I'll  give  you 
the  clew  to  Lucy ;  she  is  a  female  Chesterfield,  and  the  droll 
thing  is  she  is  polite  at  heart  as  well.  Takes  it  from  her 
mother:  she  was  something  between  an  angel  and  a  duchess." 

"  Politeness  does  not  account  for  the  sort  of  partiality  she 
showed  for  these  Dodds  while  I  was  in  the  room." 

"  Pure  imagination,  my  dear  friend.  I  was  there ;  and 
had  so  monstrous  a  phenomenon  occurred,  I  must  have  seen 
it.  If  you  think  she  could  really  prefer  their  society  to 
yours,  you  are  as  unjust  to  her  as  yourself.  She  may  have 
concealed  her  real  preference  out  of  finesse,  or  perhaps  she 
has  observed  that  our  inferiors  are  touchy,  and  ready  to 
fancy  we  slight  them  for  those  of  our  own  rank." 

Talboys  shrugged  his  shoulders;  he  was  but  half  con- 
vinced. "  Her  enthusiasm  when  the  cub  scraped  the  fiddle 
went  beyond  mere  politeness." 

"  Beyond  other  people's,  you  mean.  Nothing  on  earth 
ever  went  beyond  hers — ha !  ha !  ha !  To-morrow  night, 
if  you  like,  we  will  have  my  gardener,  Jack  Absolom,  in 
to  tea." 

"  No,  I  thank  you.  I  have  no  wish  to  go  beyond  Mr. 
and  Miss  Dodd." 

"  Oh,  only  for  an  experiment.  The  first  minute  Jack 
will  be  wretched,  and  want  to  sink  through  the  floor ;  but 
in  five  minutes  you  will  find  Lucy  will  have  made  Jack  Ab- 
solom at  home  in  my  drawing-room.  He  will  be  laying 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  77 

down  the  law  about  jonquilles,  and  she  all  sweetness,  curi- 
osity, and  enthusiasm  outside — ennui  in." 

"  Can  her  eyes  glisten  out  of  politeness1?"  inquired  Tal- 
boys,  with  a  subdued  sneer. 

"  Why  not  ?" 

"  They  could  shed  tears,  perhaps,  for  the  same  motive  ?" 
said  Talboys,  with  crushing  irony. 

"  Well !     Hum !     I'd  back  them  at  four  to  seven." 

Mr.  Talboys  was  silent,  and  his  manner  showed  that  he 
was  a  little  mortified  at  a  subject  turning  to  joke  which  he 
had  commenced  seriously.  He  must  stop  this  annoyance. 
He  said  severely,  "It  is  time  to  come  to  an  understanding 
with  you." 

At  these  words,  and,  above  all,  at  their  solemn  tone,  the 
senior  pricked  his  ears  and  prepared  his  social  diplomacy. 

"  I  have  visited  very  frequently  at  your  house,  Mr.  Fount- 
ain." 

"Never  without  being  welcome,  my  dear  sir." 

"  You  have,  I  think,  divined  one  reason  of  my  very  fre- 
quent visits  here." 

"  I  have  not  been  vain  enough  to  attribute  them  entirely 
to  my  own  attractions." 

"  You  approve  the  homage  I  render  to  that  other  attrac- 
tion 1" 

"  Unfeignedly." 

"  Am  I  so  fortunate  as  to  have  her  suffrage,  too  1" 

"  I  have  no  better  means  of  knowing  than  you  have." 

"Indeed I  I  was  in  hopes  you  might  have  sounded  her 
inclinations." 

"  I  have  scrupulously  avoided  it,"  replied  the  veteran. 
"  I  had  no  right  to  compromise  you  upon  mere  conjecture, 
however  reasonable.  I  awaited  your  authority  to  take  any 
move  in  so  delicate  a  matter.  Can  you  blame  me  *?  On 
one  side  my  friend's  dignity,  on  the  other  a  young  lady's 
peace  of  mind,  and  that  young  lady  my  brother's  daugh- 
ter." 

"  You  were  right,  my  dear  sir ;  I  see  and  appreciate  your 


78          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

reserve,  your  delicacy,  though  I  am  about  to  remove  its 
cause.  I  declare  myself  to  you  your  niece's  admirer ;  have 
I  your  permission  to  address  her  ?" 

"  You  have,  and  my  warmest  wishes  for  your  success." 

"  Thank  you.  I  think  I  may  hope  to  succeed,  provided 
I  have  a  fair  chance  afforded  me." 

"  I  will  take  care  you  shall  have  that." 

"I  should  prefer  not  to  have  others  buzzing  about  the 
lady  whose  affection  I  am  just  beginning  to  gain." 

"  You  pay  this  poor  sailor  an  amazing  compliment,"  said 
Mr.  Fountain,  a  little  testily ;  "  if  he  admires  Lucy,  it  can 
only  be  as  a  puppy  is  struck  with  the  moon  above.  The 
moon  does  not  respond  to  all  this  wonder  by  descending  into 
the  whelp's  jaws,  no  more  will  my  niece.  But  that  is  nei- 
ther here  nor  there;  you  are  now  her  declared  suitor,  and 
have  a  right  to  stipulate ;  in  short,  you  have  only  to  say  the 
word,  and  '  exeunt  Dodds,'  as  the  play-books  say." 

"  Dodds  ?  I  have  no  objection  to  the  lady.  Would  it 
not  be  possible  to  invite  her  to  tea  alone  f 

"  Quite  possible,  but  useless :  she  would  not  stir  out  with- 
out her  brother." 

"  She  seems  a  little  person  likely  to  give  herself  airs. 
Well,  then,  in  that  case,  though  as  you  say  I  am  no  doubt 
raising  Mr.  Dodd  to  a  false  importance,  still — " 

"Say  no  more;  we  should  indulge  the  whims  of  our 
friends,  not  attack  them  with  reasons.  You  will  see  the 
Dodds  no  more  in  my  house." 

"  Oh,  as  to  that,  just  as  you  please.  Perhaps  they  would 
be  as  well  out  of  it,"  said  Talboys,  with  a  sudden  affectation 
of  carelessness.  "  I  must  not  take  you  too  far ;  good-night." 

"Go-o-d-night!" 

Poor  David.  He  was  to  learn  how  little  real  hold  upon 
society  has  the  man  who  can  only  instruct  and  delight  it. 

Mr.  Fountain  bustled  home,  rubbing  his  hands  with  de- 
light. "Aha!"  thought  he;  "jealous!  actually  jealous ! 
absurdly  jealous !  That  is  a  good  sign.  Who  would  have 
thought  so  proud  a  man  could  be  jealous  of  a  sailor  t  I 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  79 

have  found  out  your  vulnerable  point,  my  friend.  I'll  tell 
Lucy ;  how  she  will  laugh.  David  Dodd !  Now  we  know 
how  to  manage  him,  Lucy  and  I.  If  he  freezes  back  again, 
we  have  but  to  send  for  David  Dodd  and  his  fiddle."  He 
bustled  home,  and  up  into  the  drawing-room  to  tell  Lucy 
Mr.  Talboys  had  at  last  declared  himself.  His  heart  felt 
warm.  He  would  settle  six  thousand  pounds  on  Mrs.  Tal- 
boys during  his  life,  and  his  whole  fortune  after  his  death. 

He  found  the  drawing-room  empty.  He  rang  the  bell. 
"  Where  is  Miss  Fountain "?"  John  didn't  know,  but  sup- 
posed she  had  gone  to  her  room. 

"  You  don't  know  ?  You  never  know  any  thing.  Send 
her  maid  to  me." 

The  maid  came  and  courtesied  demurely  at  the  door. 

"  Tell  your  mistress  I  want  to  speak  to  her  directly — be- 
fore she  undresses." 

The  maid  went  out,  and  soon  returned  to  say  that  her 
mistress  had  retired  to  rest,  but  that,  if  he  pleased,  she 
she  would  rise,  and  just  make  a  demi-to-let,  and  come  to 
him.  This  smooth  and  fair-sounding  proposal  was  not,  I 
grieve  to  say,  so  graciously  received  as  offered.  "Much 
obliged,"  snapped  old  Fountain.  "Her  demi-toilette  will 
keep  me  another  hour  out  of  my  bed,  and  I  get  no  sleep 
after  dinner  now  amongst  you.  Tell  her  to-morrow  at 
breakfast-time  will  do." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

DAVID  DODD  was  so  radiant  and  happy  for  a  day  or  two 
that  Eve  had  not  the  heart  to  throw  cold  water  on  him 
again. 

Three  days  elapsed,  and  no  invitation  to  Font  Abbey: 
on  this  his  happiness  cooled  of  itself.  But  when  day  after 
day  rolled  by,  and  no  Font  Abbey,  he  was  dashed,  uneasy, 
and,  above  all,  perplexed.  What  could  be  the  reason? 
Had  he,  with  his  rough  ways,  offended  her?  Had  she 


80          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

been  too  dignified  to  resent  it  at  the  time  ?  Was  he  nevei 
to  go  to  Font  Abbey  again  ? 

Eve's  first  feeling  was  unmixed  satisfaction.  We  have 
seen  already  that  she  expected  no  good  from  this  rash  at- 
tachment. For  a  single  moment  her  influence  and  reasons 
had  seemed  to  wean  David  from  it ;  but  his  violent  agita- 
tion and  joy  at  two  words  of  kindly  curiosity  from  Miss 
Fountain,  and  the  instant  unreasonable  revival  of  love  and 
hope,  showed  the  strange  power  she  had  acquired  over  him. 
It  made  Eve  tremble. 

But  now  the  Fountains  were  aiding  her  to  cure  this  fol- 
ly. She  had  read  them  right,  had  described  them  to  David 
aright.  A  wind  of  caprice  had  carried  him  and  her  into 
Font  Abbey ;  another  such  wind  was  carrying  them  out. 
No  event  had  happened.  Mr.  and  Miss  Fountain  had  been 
seen  more  than  once  in  the  village  of  late.  "  They  have 
dropped  us,  and  thank  heaven !"  said  Eve,  in  her  idiomatic 
way. 

She  pitied  David  deeply,  and  was  kinder  and  kinder  to 
him  now,  to  show  him  she  felt  for  him ;  but  she  never  men- 
tioned the  Font  Abbey  people  to  him  either  to  praise  or 
blame  them,  though  it  was  all  she  could  do  to  suppress  her 
satisfaction  at  the  turn  their  insolent  caprice  had  taken. 

That  satisfaction  was  soon  clouded.  This  time,  instead 
of  rousing  himself  and  his  pride,  David  sank  into  a  moody 
despondency,  varied  by  occasional  fretfulness.  His  appetite 
went,  and  his  bright  color,  and  his  elastic  step.  This  silent 
sadness  was  so  new  in  him — such  a  contrast  to  his  natural 
temperament,  large,  genial,  and  ever  cheerful,  that  Eve 
could  not  bear  it.  "  I  must  shake  him  out  of  this,  at  all 
hazards,"  thought  she :  yet  she  put  off  the  experiment,  and 
put  it  off,  partly  in  hopes  that  David  would  speak  first, 
partly  because  she  saw  the  wound  she  would  probe  was 
deep,  and  she  winced  beforehand  for  her  patient. 

Meantime,  prolonged  doubt  and  suspense  now  goaded 
with  their  intolerable  stings  the  active  spirit  that  chill  mis- 
givings had  at  first  benumbed.  Spurred  into  action  by 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LOKG.  81 

these  torments,  David  had  already  watched  several  days  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Font  Abbey,  determined  to  speak  to 
Miss  Fountain,  and  find  out  whether  he  had  given  her  of- 
fense ;  for  this  was  still  his  uppermost  idea.  Having  failed 
in  this  attempt  at  an  interview  with  her,  he  was  now  med- 
itating a  more  resolute  course,  and  he  paced  the  little  grav- 
el-walk at  home  debating  in  himself  the  pros  and  cons. 
Raising  his  head  suddenly,  he  saw  his  sister  walking  slow- 
ly at  the  other  end  of  the  path.  She  was  coming  toward 
him,  but  her  eyes  were  bent  thoughtfully  on  the  ground. 
David  slipped  behind  some  bushes,  not  to  have  his  unhap- 
piness  and  his  meditations  interrupted.  The  lover  and  the 
lunatic  have  points  in  common. 

He  had  been  there  some  time  when  a  grave  little  voice 
spoke  quietly  to  him  from  the  lawn.  "David,  I  want  to 
speak  to  you."  David  came  out. 

"Here  ami." 

"  Oh,  I  knew  where  you  were.  Don't  do  that  again,  sir, 
please,  or  you'll  catch  it." 

"  Oh !  I  didn't  think  you  saw  me,"  said  David,  some- 
what confusedly. 

"  What  has  that  to  do  with  it,  stupid  ?  David,"  contin- 
ued she,  assuming  a  benevolent,  cheerful,  and  somewhat 
magnificent  nonchalance,  "I  sometimes  wonder  you  don't 
come  to  me  with  your  troubles.  I  might  advise  you  as 
well  as  here  and  there  one.  But  perhaps  you  think  now, 
because  I  am  naturally  gay,  I  am  not  sensible.  You 
mustn't  go  by  that  altogther.  Manner  is  very  deceiving. 
The  most  foolishly  conducted  men  and  women  ever  I  met 
were  as  grave  as  judges,  and  as  demure  as  cats  after  cream. 
Bless  you,  there  is  folly  in  every  heart.  Your  slow  ones 
bottle  it  up  for  use  against  the  day  wisdom  shall  be  most 
needed.  My  sort  let  it  fizz  out  at  their  mouths  in  their 
daily  talk,  and  keep  their  good  sense  for  great  occasions, 
like  the  present." 

"Have  we  drifted  among  the  proverbs  of  Solomon f  in- 
quired David,  dryly.  "No  need  to  make  so  many  tacks, 
D2 


82          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Eve.  Haven't  I  seen  your  sense  and  profited  by  it — I  and 
one  or  two  more?  Who  but  you  has  steered  the  house 
this  ten  years,  and  commanded  the  lubberly  crew  ?"* 

"And  then  again,  David,  where  the  heart  is  concerned, 
young  women  are  naturally  in  advance  of  young  men." 

"  God  knows.     He  made  them  both.     I  don't." 

"  Why,  all  the  world  knows  it.  And  then,  besides,  I  am 
five  years  older  than  you." 

"  So  mother  says ;  but  I  don't  know  how  to  believe  it. 
No  one  would  say  so  to  look  at  you." 

"I'll  tell  you,  David.  Folk  that  have  small  features 
look  a  deal  younger  than  their  years ;  and  you  know  poor 
father  used  to  say  my  face  was  the  pattern  of  a  flat-iron : 
so  nobody  gives  me  my  age ;  but  I  am  five  good  years  older 
than  you,  only  you  needn't  go  and  tell  the  town- crier." 

"Well,  Eve?" 

"Well,  then,  put  all  these  together,  and  now  why  not 
come  to  me  for  friendly  advice  and  the  voice  of  reason  ?" 

"  Reason !  reason !  there  are  other  lights  besides  reason." 

"Jack-o'-lantern,  eh?  and  Will-o'-the-wisp." 

"  Eve,  nobody  can  advise  me  that  can't  feel  for  me.  No- 
body can  feel  for  me  that  doesn't  know  my  pain ;  and  you 
don't  know  that,  because  you  were  never  in  love." 

"  Oh,  then,  if  I  had  ever  been  in  love,  you  would  listen." 

"  As  I  would  to  an  angel  from  heaven." 

"  And  be  advised  by  me." 

"  Why  not  ?  for  then  you'd  be  competent  to  advise ;  but 
now  you  haven't  an  idea  what  you  are  talking  about." 

"  What  a  pity !  Don't  you  think  it  would  be  as  well  if 
you  were  not  to  speak  to  me  so  sulky  ?" 

"  I  ask  your  pardon,  Eve.  I  did  not  mean  to  offend 
you." 

"  Davy,  dear — for  God's  sake,  what  is  this  chill  that  has 

*  The  reader  must  not  be  misled  by  the  familiar  phraseology  of 
these  two  speakers  to  suppose  that  any  thing  the  least  droll  or  humor- 
ous was  intended  by  either  of  them  at  any  part  of  this  singular  dia- 
logue. Their  hearts  were  sad  and  their  faces  grave. 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,   LOVE   ME    LONG.  83 

come  between  you  and  me  ?  You  are  a  man.  Speak  out 
like  a  man." 

David  turned  his  great  calm,  sorrowful  eye  full  upon  her. 

"Well,  then,  Eve,  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  I  am  disap- 
pointed in  you." 

"  Oh,  David." 

"A  little.  You  are  not  the  girl  I  took  you  for.  You 
know  which  way  my  fancy,  lies,  yet  you  keep  steering  me 
in  the  teeth  of  it ;  then  you  see  how  downhearted  I  am  this 
while,  but  not  a  word  of  comfort  or  hope  comes  from  you, 
and  me  almost  dried  up  for  want  of  one." 

"Make  one  word  of  it,  David — I  am  not  a  sister  to 
you." 

"I  don't  say  that,  but  you  might  be  kinder;  you  are 
against  me  just  when  I  want  you  with  me  the  most." 

"  Now  this  is  what  I  like,"  said  Eve,  cheerfully ;  "  this 
is  plain  speaking.  So  now  it  is  my  turn,  my  lad.  Do  you 
remember  Balaam  and  his  ass  T' 

"  Sure,"  said  David ;  but,  used  as  he  was  to  Eve's  tran- 
sitions, he  couldn't  help  staring  a  little  at  being  carried  east- 
ward ho  so  suddenly. 

"  Then  what  did  the  ass  say  when  she  broke  silence  at 
tost?" 

"  Well,  you  know,  Eve ;  I  take  shame  to  say  I  don't  re- 
member her  very  words,  but  the  tune  of  them  I  do.  Why, 
she  sang  out,  '  Avast  there !  it  is  first  fault,  so  you  needn't 
be  so  hasty  with  your  thundering  rope's  end.'  " 

"There!  You'd  make  a  nice  commentator.  You  haven't 
taken  it  up  one  bit ;  you  are  as  much  in  the  dark  as  our 
parson.  He  preached  on  her  the  very  Sunday  you  came 
home,  and  it  was  all  I  could  do  to  help  whipping  up  into 
the  pulpit,  and  snatching  away  his  book,  and  letting  day- 
light in  on  them." 

David  was  scandalized  at  the  very  idea  of  such  a  breach 
of  discipline.  "  That  is  ridiculous,"  said  he ;  "  one  can't 
have  two  skippers  in  a  church  any  more  than  in  a  ship, 
brig,  or  bark.  But  you  can  let  daylight  in  on  me." 


84          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  I  mean.  To  begin :  the  ass  was  in  the  right  and  Ba- 
laam in  the  wrong  ;  so  what  becomes  of  your  '  first  fault  T 
She  was  frugal  of  her  words,  but  every  syllable  was  a  nee- 
dle ;  the  worst  is,  some  skins  are  so  thick  our  needles  won't 
enter  'em.  Says  she,  '  This  seven  years  you  have  known 
me ;  always  true  to  the  bridle  and  true  to  you.  Did  ever  I 
disobey  you  before  ?  Then  why  go  and  fancy  I  do  it  with- 
out some  great  cause  that  you  can't  see  T  Then  the  man's 
eyes  were  open,  and  he  saw  it  was  destruction  his  old  friend 
had  run  back  from,  and  galled  his  foot  to  save  his  life  ;  so 
of  course  he  thanked  her,  and  blessed  her  then.  Not  he. 
He  was  too  much  of  a  man." 

"  Ay,  ay,  I  see ;  but  what  is  the  moral  1  for  I  have  no 
heart  to  expound  riddles." 

"  Oh,  I'll  tell  you  the  moral  sooner  than  you'll  like,  per- 
haps. The  ass  is  a  type,  David.  In  Holy  Writ  you  know 
almost  every  thing  is  a  type :  when  a  thing  means  one  thing 
and  stands  for  another,  that's  a  type." 

"  Ducks  can  swim — at  least  I've  heard  so.  Now  if  you 
could  tell  me  what  she  is  a  type  off 

"What,  the  ass?  Don't  you  know?  Why,  of  women, 
to  be  sure — of  us  poor  creatures  of  burden,  underrated  and 
misunderstood  all  the  world  over.  And  Balaam  he  stands 
for  men,  and  for  you  at  the  head  of  them,"  cried  she,  turn- 
ing round  with  flashing  eyes  on  David :  "  you  have  known 
me  and  my  true  affection  more  than  seven  years,  or  seven- 
teen. I  carried  you  in  my  arms  when  you  were  a  year  old, 
and  I  was  six.  You  were  my  little  curly-headed  darling 
then,  and  have  been  from  that  day  to  this.  Did  ever  I 
cross  you,  or  be  cold  or  unkind  to  you  till  the  other  day?" 

"No,  Eve,  no,  no,  no !     Come  sit  beside  me." 

"Then  shouldn't  you  have  said,  'Don't  slobber  me:  I 
won't  have  it ;  you  and  I  are  bad  friends.'  Oughtn't  you 
to  have  said,  'Eve  could  never  give  herself  the  pain  of 
crossing  me'  (no,  there  isn't  a  man  in  the  world  with  gump- 
tion enough  to  say  that :  that  is  a  woman's  thought) ;  but 
at  least  you  might  have  said,  '  She  sees  rocks  ahead  that  I 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONG.  85 

can't.'  (Balaam  couldn't  see  the  drawn  sword  ahead,  but 
there  it  was.)  It  was  for  you  to  say, '  My  sister  Eve  would 
not  change  from  gay  to  grave  all  at  once,  and  from  indulg- 
ing me  in  every  thing  to  thwarting  me  and  vexing  me,  un- 
less she  saw  some  great  danger  threatening  your  peace  of 
mind,  your  career  in  life,  your  very  reason  perhaps.' " 

"  I  have  been  to  blame,  Eve  ;  but  speak  out,  and  let  me 
know  the  worst.  You  have  heard  something  against  her 
character"?  Speak  plain  out,  for  Heaven's  sake!" 

"  It  is  all  very  well  of  you  to  say  speak  plain  out,  but 
there  are  things  girls  don't  like  to  speak  about  to  any  man. 
But  after  what  you  said,  that  you  would  listen  to  me  if  I — 
so  it  is  my  duty.  You  will  see  my  face  red  enough  in  about 
a  minute.  Two  years  ago  I  couldn't  have  done  this  even 
for  you.  It  is  hard  I  must  expose  my  own  folly — my  own 
crime." 

"Why,  Eve,  lass,  how  you  tremble!  Drop  it  now! 
drop  it !" 

"  Hold  your  tongue !"  said  Eve,  sharply,  but  in  consider- 
able agitation.  "  It  is  too  late  now,  after  something  you 
have  said  to  me.  If  I  didn't  speak  out  now,  I  should  be 
like  that  bad  man  you  told  us  of,  who  let  out  the  beacon 
light  when  the  wind  was  blowing  hard  on  shore.  Listen, 
David,  and  take  my  words  to  heai't.  The  road  you  are  on 
now,  I  have  been  upon,  only  I  went  much  farther  on  it  than 
you  shall  go."  She  resumed  after  a  short  pause :  "  You  re- 
member Henry  Dyke  ?" 

"What,  the  young  clergyman,  who  used  to  be  always 
alongside  you  at  our  last  anchorage  ?" 

"Yes.  He  was  just  such  a  man  as  Miss  Fountain  is 
a  woman.  He  was  but  a  dish  of  skim-milk,  yet  he  could 
poieon  my  life." 

Then  Eve  told  the  story  of  her  heart.  She  described  her 
lover  as  he  appeared  to  her  in  the  early  days  of  courtship, 
young,  handsome,  good,  noble  in  sentiment,  and  warm  and 
tender  in  manner.  Halcyon  days — not  a  speck  to  be  seen 
on  love's  horizon. 


86  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

Then  she  delineated  the  fine  gradations  by  which  the  il- 
lusion faded,  too  slowly  and  too  late  for  her  to  withdraw 
the  love  she  had  conceived  for  his  person  at  that  time  when 
person  and  mind  seemed  alike  superior.  She  painted  with 
the  delicate  touch  of  her  sex  the  portrait  of  a  man  and  a 
scholar  born  to  please  all  the  world,  and  incapable  of  con- 
densing his  affections :  a  pious  flirt,  no  longer  stimulated  to 
genuine  ardor  by  doubts  of  success,  but  too  kind-hearted  to 
pain  her  beyond  measure  when  a  little  factitious  warmth 
from  time  to  time  would  give  her  hours  of  happiness,  keep 
her,  on  the  whole,  content,  and,  above  all,  retain  her  his. 
Then  she  shifted  the  mirror  to  herself,  the  fiery  and  faithful 
one,  and  showed  David  what  centuries  of  torture  a  good 
little  creature  like  this  Dyke,  with  its  charming  exterior, 
could  make  a  quick,  and  ardent,  and  devoted  nature  suffer 
in  a  year  or  two.  Came  out  in  her  narrative,  link  by  link, 
the  gentle  delicious  complacency  of  the  first  period,  the  chill 
airs  that  soon  ruffled  it,  the  glowing  hopes,  the  misgivings 
that  dashed  them  ;  then  the  diminution  of  confidence,  more 
complexing  and  exasperating  than  its  utter  loss ;  the  alter- 
nations of  joy  and  doubt,  the  fever  and  the  ague  of  the 
wounded  spirit ;  then  the  gusts  of  hatred  followed  by  deeper 
love ;  later  still,  the  periodical  irritation  at  hopes  long  de- 
ferred, and  still  gleams  of  bliss  between  the  paroxysms,  so 
that  now,  as  the  vulgar  say  in  their  tremendous  Saxon,  she 
"spent  her  time  between  heaven  and  hell;"  last  of  all,  the 
sickness  and  recklessness  of  the  worn-out  and  wearied  heart 
over  which  melancholy  or  fury  impended. 

It  was  at  this  crisis  when,  as  she  could  now  see  on  a 
calm  retrospect,  her  mind  was  distempered,  a  new  and  ter- 
rible passion  stepped  upon  the  scene — jealousy.  A  friend 
came  and  whispered  her,  "  Mr.  Dyke  was  courting  another 
woman  at  the  same  time,  and  that  other  woman  was  rich." 

"  David,  at  that  word  a  flash  of  lightning  seemed  to  go 
through  me,  and  show  me  the  man  as  he  really  was." 

"The  mean  scoundrel,  to  sell  himself  for  money! !" 

"  No,  David,  he  would  not  have  sold  himself,  with  his 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  87 

eyes  open,  any  more  than  perhaps  your  Miss  Fountain 
would ;  but  what  little  heart  he  had  he  could  give  to  any 
girl  that  was  not  a  fright.  He  was  a  self-deceiver  and  a 
general  lover,  and  such  characters  and  their  affections  sink 
by  nature  to  where  their  interest  lies.  Iron  is  not  con- 
scious, yet  it  creeps  toward  the  loadstone.  Well,  while  she 
was  with  me  I  held  up  and  managed  to  question  her  as 
coldly  as  I  speak  to  you  now,  but  as  soon  as  she  left  me  I 
went  off  in  violent  hysterics." 

"Poor  Eve!" 

"  She  had  not  been  gone  an  hour  when  doesn't  the  devil 
put  it  into  his  head  to  send  me  a  long,  affectionate  letter,  and 
in  the  postscript  he  invited  himself  to  supper  the  same  aft- 
ernoon. Then  I  got  up  and  dried  my  eyes,  and  I  seemed  to 
turn  into  stone  with  resolution.  '  Come !'  I  said, '  but  don't 
think  you  shall  ever  go  back  to  her.  Your  troubles  and 
mine  shall  end  to-night.'  " 

"  Why,  Eve,  you  turn  pale  with  thinking  of  it.  I  fear 
you  have  had  worse  thoughts  pass  through  your  mind  than 
any  man  is  worth." 

"  David,  your  blood  was  in  my  veins,  and  mine  is  in 
yours." 

"  If  I  didn't  think  so !  The  Lord  deliver  us  from  tempt- 
ation !  We  don't  know  ourselves  nor  those  we  love." 

"  He  had  driven  me  mad." 

"  Mad,  indeed.  What !  had  you  the  heart  to  see  the  man 
bleed  to  death — the  man  you  had  loved — you,  my  little  gen- 
tle Eve?" 

"  Oh  no,  no ;  no  blood !"  said  Eve,  with  a  shudder.  "  Lau- 
danum !" 

"Good  God!" 

"  Oh !  I  see  your  thought.  No,  I  was  not  like  the  men 
in  the  newspapers,  that  kill  the  poor  woman  with  a  sure 
hand,  and  then  give  themselves  a  scratch.  It  was  to  be 
one  spoonful  for  him,  but  two  for  me.  I  can't  dwell  on  it" 
(and  she  hid  her  face  in  her  hands) ;  "  it  is  too  terrible  to 
remember  how  far  I  was  misled.  Who,  think  you,  saved  us 
both "?"  David  could  not  guess. 


88  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  A  little  angel — my  good  angel,  that  came  home  from 
sea  that  very  afternoon.  When  I  saw  your  curly  head,  and 
your  sweet  sunburnt  face  come  in  at  the  door,  guess  if  I 
thought  of  putting  death  in  the  pot  after  that.  Ah !  the 
love  of  our  own  flesh  and  blood,  that  is  the  love — God  and 
good  angels  can  smile  on  it." 

"  Yes ;  but  go  on,"  said  David,  impatiently. 

"It  is  cnJed,  David.  They  say  a  woman's  heart  is  a 
riddle,  and  perhaps  you  will  think  so  when  I  tell  you  that 
when  he  had  brought  me  down  to  this,  and  hadn't  died  for 
it,  I  turned  as  cold  as  ice  to  him  that  minute,  once  and  for- 
ever. I  looked  back  at  the  precipice,  and  I  hated  him. 
Ay,  from  that  evening  he  was  like  the  black  dog  to  my  eye. 
I  used  to  slip  any  where  to  hide  out  of  his  way — -just  as  you 
did  out  of  mine  but  now." 

"  Can't  you  forget  that  ?     Well,  to  be  sure.     Well  ?" 

"So  then  (now  you  may  learn  what  these  skim-milk 
cheeses  are  made  of),  when  he  found  he  was  my  aversion, 
he  fell  in  love  with  me  again  as  hot  as  ever ;  tried  all  he 
could  think  of  to  win  me  back ;  wrote  a  letter  every  day ; 
came  to  me  every  other  day ;  and  when  he  saw  it  was  all 
over  for  good  between  us,  he  cried  and  bellowed  till  my  hate 
all  went  ami  scorn  came  in  its  place.  Next  time  we  met 
he  played  quite  another  part — the  calm,  heart-broken  Chris- 
tian ;  gave  me  his  blessing ;  went  down  on  his  knees,  and 
prayed  a  beautiful  prayer,  that  took  me  off  my  guard,  and 
made  me  almost  respect  him ;  then  went  away,  and  quietly 
married  the  girl  with  money ;  and  six  months  after  wrote 
to  me  he  was  miserable,  dated  from  the  vicarage  her  parents 
had  got  him." 

"  Now,  you  know,  if  he  wasn't  a  parson,  d — n  me  if  I'd 
turn  in  to-night  till  I'd  ropes-ended  that  lubber !" 

"  As  if  I'd  let  you  dirty  your  hands  with  such  rubbish ! 
I  sent  the  note  back  to  him  with  just  one  line,  '  Such  a  fool 
as  you  are  has  no  right  to  be  a  villain.'  There,  David, 
there  is  your  poor  sister's  life.  Oh,  what  I  went  through 
for  that  man !  Often  I  said,  is  Heaven  just  to  let  a  poor 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          89 

faithful,  loving  girl,  who  has  done  no  harm,  be  played  with 
on  the  hook,  and  tortured  hot  and  cold,  day  after  day,  month 
after  month,  year  after  year,  as  I  was?  But  now  I  see  why 
it  was  permitted ;  it  was  for  your  sake,  that  you  might  prof- 
it by  my  sharp  experience,  and  not  fling  your  heart  away  on 
frozen  mud,  as  I  did ;"  and,  happy  in  this  feminine  theory 
of  divine  justice,  Eve  rested  on  her  brother  a  look  that  would 
have  adorned  a  seraph,  then  took  him  gently  round  the  neck 
and  laid  her  little  cheek  flat  to  his. 

She  felt  as  if  she  had  just  saved  a  beloved  life. 

Who  can  estimate  the  value  of  a  happiness  so  moment- 
ary, yet  so  holy  ? 

Presently  looking  up,  she  saw  David's  face  illuminated. 
"What  is  it?"  she  asked,  joyously ;  "you  look  pleased." 

David  was  "  pleased  because  now  he  was  sure  she  could 
feel  for  him,  and  would  side  with  him." 

"  That  I  do ;  but,  David,  as  it  is  all  over  between  you 
and  her — " 

"  All  over  ?     Am  I  dead,  then  ?" 

Eve  gasped  with  astonishment :  "  Why,  what  have  I  been 
telling  you  all  this  for  ?" 

"Who  should  you  tell  your  trouble  to  but  your  own 
brother  1  Why,  Eve — ha !  ha ! — you  don't  really  see  any 
likeness  between  your  case  and  mine,  do  you?  You  are 
not  so  blind  as  to  compare  her  with  that  thundering  muff?" 

"  They  are  brother  and  sister,  as  we  are,"  was  the  reply. 
"  Ever  since  I  saw  you  looked  her  way,  my  eye  has  hardly 
been  off  her,  and  she  is  Henry  Dyke  in  petticoats." 

"  I  don't  thank  you  for  saying  that.  Well,  and  if  she  is, 
what  has  that  to  do  with  it  ?  I  am  not  a  woman.  I  am 
not  forced  to  lie-to  waiting  for  a  wind,  as  the  girls  are.  I 
am  a  man.  I  can  work  for  the  wish  of  my  heart,  and,  if  it 
does  not  come  to  meet  me,  I  can  overhaul  it."  Eve  was  a 
little  staggered  by  this  thrust,  but  she  was  not  one  to  show 
an  antagonist  any  advantage  he  had  obtained.  "David," 
said  she,  coldly,  "  it  must  come  to  one  of  two  things :  either 
she  will  send  you  about  your  business  in  form,  which  is  a 


90          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

needless  affront  for  you  and  me  both,  or  she  will  hold  you 
in  hand,  and  play  with  you  and  drive  you  mad.  Take 
warning ;  remember  what  is  in  our  blood.  Father  was  as 
well  as  you  are,  but  agitation  and  vexation  robbed  him  of 
his  reason  for  a  while;  and  you  and  I  are  his  children. 
Milk  of  roses  creeps  along  in  that  young  lady's  veins,  but 
fire  gallops  in  ours.  Give  her  up,  David,  as  she  has  you. 
She  has  let  you  escape ;  don't  fly  back  like  a  moth  to  the 
candle!  You  sha' n't,  however ;  I  wont  let  you." 

"Eve,"  said  David,  quietly,  "you  argue  well,  but  you 
can't  argue  light  into  dark,  nor  night  into  day.  She  is  the 
sun  to  me.  I  have  seen  her  light,  and  now  I  can't  live 
without  it." 

He  added,  more  calmly,  "It  is  her  or  none.  I  never 
saw  a  girl  but  this  that  I  wanted  to  see  twice,  and  I  never 
shall." 

"  But  it  is  that  which  frightens  me  for  you,  David.  Often 
I  have  wished  I  could  see  you  flirt  a  bit,  and  harden  your 
heart." 

"  And  break  some  poor  girl's." 

"  Oh !  hang  them !  they  always  contrive  to  pass  it  on. 
What  do  I  care  for  girls !  they  are  not  my  brother.  But 
no,  David,  I  can't  believe  you  will  go  against  me  and  my 
judgment  after  the  insult  she  has  put  on  you.  No  more 
about  it,  but  just  you  choose  between  my  respect  and  this 
wild-goose  chase." 

"  I  choose  both,"  said  David,  quietly. 

"  Both  you  sha'n't  have ;"  and  with  this,  up  bounced  Eve, 
and  stood  before  him  bristling  like  a  cat-o'mountain.  Da- 
vid tried  to  soothe  her — to  coax  her — in  vain ;  her  cheek 
was  on  fire,  and  her  eyes  like  basilisk's.  It  was  a  picture 
to  see  the  pretty  little  fury  stand  so  erect  and  threatening, 
great  David  so  humble  and  deprecating,  yet  so  dogged.  At 
last  he  took  out  his  knife :  it  was  not  one  of  your  stabbing- 
knives,  but  the  sort  of  pruning-knife  that  no  sailor  went 
without  in  those  days.  "  Now,"  said  he,  sadly,  "  take  and 
cut  my  head  off — cut  me  to  pieces  if  you  will — I  won't 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME  LONG.  91 

wince  or  complain ;  and  then  you  will  get  your  way ;  but 
while  I  do  live  I  shall  love  her,  and  I  can't  afford  to  lose 
her  by  sitting  twiddling  my  thumbs,  waiting  for  luck.  I'll 
try  all  I  know  to  win  her,  and  if  I  lose  her  I  won't  blame 
her,  but  myself  for  not  finding  out  how  to  please  her ;  and 
with  that  I'll  live  a  bachelor  all  my  days  for  her,  or  else  die, 
just  as  God  wills — I  sha'n't  much  care  which." 

"  Oh,  I  know  you,  you  obstinate  t6"ad,"  said  Eve,  clench- 
ing her  teeth  and  her  little  hand.  Then  she  burst  out  furi- 
ously: "  Are  you  quite  resolved  ?" 

"  Quite,  dear  Eve,"  said  David,  sadly — but  somehow  it 
was  like  a  rock  speaking. 

"Then  there  is  my  hand,"  said  Eve,  with  an  instant 
transition  to  amiable  cheerfulness  that  dazzled  a  body  like 
a  dark  lantern  flying  open.  Used  as  David  was  to  her,  it 
stupefied  him ;  he  stared  at  her,  and  was  all  abroad.  "  Well, 
what  is  the  wonder  now?"  inquired  Eve;  "there  are  but 
two  of  us.  We  must  be  together  somehow  or  another, 
mustn't  we?  You  won't  be  wise  with  me;  well,  then,  I'll 
be  a  fool  with  you.  I'll  help  you  with  this  girl." 

"  Oh !  my  dear  Eve !" 

"You  won't  gain  much.  Without  me  you  hadn't  the 
shadow  of  a  chance,  and  with  me  you  haven't  a  chance, 
that  is  all  the  odds." 

"  I  have !  I  have !  you  have  taken  away  my  breath  with 
joy ;"  and  David  was  quite  overcome  with  the  turn  Eve  had 
taken  in  his  favor. 

"  Oh,  you  need  not  thank  me,"  said  Eve,  tossing  her  head, 
with  a  hypocrisy  all  her  own.  "  It  is  not  out  of  affection 
for  you  I  do  it,  you  may  be  very  sure  of  that ;  but  it  looks 
so  ridiculous  to  see  my  brother  slipping  out  of  my  way  be- 
hind a  tree  as  soon  as  he  sees  me  coming— oh !  oh  !  oh ! 
oh !"  And  a  violent  burst  of  sobs  and  tears  revealed  how 
that  incident  had  rankled  in  this  stoical  little  heart. 

David,  with  the  tear  in  his  own  eye,  clasped  her  in  his 
arms,  and  kissed  her,  and  coaxed  her,  and  begged  her  again 
and  again  to  forgive  him.  This  she  did  internally  at  the 


92  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

first  word ;  but  externally  no ;  pouted  and  sobbed  till  she 
had  exacted  her  full  tribute,  then  cleared  up  with  sudden 
alacrity  and  inquired  his  plans. 

"  I  am  going  to  call  at  Font  Abbey,  and  find  out  wheth- 
er I  have  offended  her." 

Eve  demurred,  "  that  would  never  do.  You  would  betray 
yourself,  and  there  would  be  an  end  of  you.  How  good  I 
am  not  to  let  you  go.  No,  I'll  call  there.  I  shall  quietly 
find  out  whether  it  is  her  doing  that  we  have  not  been  in- 
vited so  long,  or  whose  it  is.  You  stay  where  you  are.  I 
won't  be  a  minute." 

When  the  minute  was  thirty-five,  David  came  under  her 
window  and  called  her.  She  popped  her  head  out :  "  Well  ?" 

"What  are  you  doing?" 

"  Putting  on  my  bonnet." 

"  Why,  you  have  been  an  hour." 

"You  wouldn't  have  me  go  there  a  fright,  would  you?" 

At  last  she  came  down  and  started  for  Font  Abbey,  and 
David  was  left  to  count  the  minutes  till  her  return.  He 
paced  the  gravel  sailor-wise,  taking  six  steps  and  then  turn- 
ing, instead  of  going  in  each  direction  as  far  as  he  could. 
He  longed  and  feared  his  sister's  return.  One  hour — two 
hours  elapsed ;  still  he  walked  a  supposed  deck  on  the  little 
lawn — six  steps  and  then  turn.  At  last  he  saw  her  com- 
ing in  the  distance ;  he  ran  to  meet  her ;  but  when  he  came 
up  with  her  he  did  not  speak,  but  looked  wistfully  in  her 
face,  and  tried  hard  to  read  it  and  his  fate. 

"  Now,  David,  don't  make  a  fool  of  yourself,  or  I  won't 
tell  you." 

"  No,  no.     I'll  be  calm,  I  will — be — calm." 

"Well,  then,  for  one  thing,  she  is  to  drink  tea  with  us 
this  evening." 

"She?  Who?  What?  Where?  Oh!" 

"Here." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  93 


CHAPTER  V. 

ME.  FOUNTAIN  sat  at  breakfast  opposite  his  niece  with  a 
twinkle  set  in  his  eye  like  a  cherry-clack  in  a  tree,  relishing 
beforehand  her  smiles,  and  blushes,  and  gratitude  to  him  for 
having  hooked  and  played  his  friend,  so  that  now  she  had 
but  to  land  him.  "I'll  just  finish  this  delicious  cup  of 
coffee,"  thought  he,  "and  then  I'll  tell  you,  my  lady." 
While  he  was  slowly  sipping  said  cup,  Lucy  looked  up  and 
said  graciously  to  him,  "  How  silly  Mr.  Talboys  was  last 
night — was  he  not,  dear?" 

" Talboys?  silly?  what?  do  you  know?  Why,  what  on 
earth  do  you  mean?" 

"  Silly  is  a  harsh  word — injudicious  then — praising  me 
a  tort  et  a  trovers,  and  was  downright  ill  bred — was  dis- 
courteous to  another  of  our  guests,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"  Confound  Mr.  Dodd !  I  wish  I  had  never  invited  him." 

"So  do  I.     If  you  remember,  I  dissuaded  you." 

"  I  do  remember  now.    What !  you  don't  like  him  either?" 

"There  you  are  mistaken,  dear.  I  esteem  Mr.  Dodd 
highly,  and  Miss  Dodd  too,  in  spite  of  her  manifest  defects ; 
but  in  making  up  parties,  however  small,  we  should  choose 
our  guests  with  reference  to  each  other,  not  merely  to  our- 
selves. Now  forgive  me,  it  was  clear  beforehand  that  Mr. 
Talboys  and  the  Dodds,  especially  Miss  Dodd,  would  never 
coalesce;  hence  my  objection  in  inviting  them;  but  you 
overruled  me — with  a  rod  of  iron,  dear." 

"  Yes ;  but  why  ?  because  you  gave  me  such  a  bad  rea- 
son ;  you  never  said  a  word  about  this  incongruity." 

"  But  it  was  in  my  mind  all  the  time." 

"Then  why  didn't  it  come  out?" 

"Because — because  something  else  would  come  out  in- 
stead. As  if  one  gave  one's  real  reasons  for  things ! !  Now, 


94  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME  LONG. 

uncle,  dear,  you  allow  me  great  liberties,  but  would  it  have 
been  quite  the  thing  for  me  to  lecture  you  upon  the  selec- 
tion of  your  own  convives  f 

"  Why,  you  have  ended  by  doing  it." 

Lucy  colored.     "  Not  till  the  event  proves — not  till — " 

"  Not  till  your  advice  is  no  longer  any  use." 

Lucy,  driven  into  a  corner,  replied  by  an  imploring  look, 
which  had  just  the  opposite  effect  of  argument :  it  instantly 
disarmed  the  old  boy ;  he  grinned  superior,  and  spared  his 
supple  antagonist  three  sarcasms  that  were  all  on  the  tip  of 
his  tongue.  He  was  rewarded  for  his  clemency  by  a  little 
piece  of  advice,  delivered  by  his  niece  with  a  sort  of  hesi- 
tating and  penitent  air  he  did  not  understand  one  bit,  eyes 
down  upon  the  cloth  all  the  time. 

It  came  to  this :  he  was  to  listen  to  her  suggestions  with 
a  prejudice  in  their  favor  if  he  could,  and  give  them  credit 
for  being  backed  by  good  reasons ;  at  all  events,  he  was 
never  to  do  them  the  injustice  to  suppose  they  rested  on 
those  puny  considerations  she  might  put  forward  in  con- 
nection with  them. 

"  Silly"  is  a  term  carrying  with  it  a  certain  promptness 
and  decision ;  above  all,  it  was  a  very  remarkable  word  for 
Lucy  to  use.  "The  girl  is  a  martinet  in  these  things," 
thought  he;  "she  can't  forgive  the  least  bit  of  impoliteness. 
I  suppose  he  snubbed  Jacky  Tar :  what  a  crime !  But  I 
had  better  let  this  blow  over  before  I  go  any  farther."  So 
he  postponed  his  disclosure  till  to-morrow. 

But,  before  to-morrow  came,  he  had  thought  it  over  again, 
and  convinced  himself  it  would  be  the  wiser  course  not  to 
interfere  at  all  for  the  present,  except  by  throwing  the  young 
people  constantly  together.  He  had  lived  long  enough  to 
see  that,  in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  husband  and  wife  might 
be  defined  "  a  man  and  a  woman  that  were  thrown  a  good 
deal  together — generally  in  the  country."  A  marries  B, 
and  C  D ;  but,  under  similar  circumstances,  i.  e.,  thrown  to- 
gether, A  would  have  married  D,  and  C  B.  This  applies 
to  puppy  dogs  male  and  female,  as  well  as  to  boys  and  girls. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          95 

Perhaps  a  personal  feeling  had  some  little  share,  too,  in 
bringing  him  to  the  above  conclusion.  He  was  a  bit  of  a 
schemer — liked  to  play  puppets.  At  present,  his  niece  and 
friend  were  the  largest  and  finest  puppets  he  had  on  hand ; 
the  day  he  should  bring  them  to  a  mutual,  rational  under- 
standing the  puppet-strings  would  fall  from  his  hands,  and 
the  puppets  turn  independent  agents.  He  represented  to 
Talboys  that  Lucy  was  young  and  very  innocent  in  some 
respects ;  that  marriage  did  not  seem  to  run  in  her  head  as 
in  most  girls' ;  that  a  precipitate  avowal  might  startle  her, 
and  raise  unnecessary  difficulties  by  putting  her  on  her  guard 
too  early  in  their  acquaintance.  "  You  have  no  rival,"  he 
concluded ;  "  best  win  her  quietly  by  degrees.  Undermine 
the  coy  jade!  she  is  worth  it."  Cool  Talboys  acquiesced. 
David  had  spurred  him  out  of  his  pace  one  night;  but 
David  was  put  out  of  the  way :  the  course  was  clear ;  and, 
as  he  could  walk  over  it  now,  why  gallop? 

Childish  as  his  friend's  jealousy  of  this  poor  sailor  had 
seemed  to  Mr.  Fountain,  still,  the  idea  once  started,  he 
could  not  help  inspecting  Lucy  to  see  how  she  would  take 
his  sudden  exclusion  from  these  parties.  Now  Lucy  missed 
the  Dodds  very  much,  and  was  surprised  to  see  them  in- 
vited no  more.  But  it  was  not  in  her  character  to  satisfy 
a  curiosity  of  this  sort  by  putting  a  point-blank  question  to 
the  person  who  could  tell  her  in  two  words. .  She  was  one 
of  those  thorough  women  whose  instinct  it  is  to  find  out 
little  things,  not  to  ask  about  them.  When  day  after  day 
passed  by,  and  the  Dodds  were  not  invited,  it  flashed  through 
her  mind,  first,  that  there  must  be  some  reason  for  this ; 
secondly,  that  she  had  only  to  take  no  notice,  and  the  rea- 
son, if  any,  would  be  sure  to  pop  out.  She  half  suspected 
Talboys,  but  gave  him  no  sign  of  suspicion.  With  unruf- 
fled demeanor  and  tranquil  patience,  she  watched  demurely 
for  disclosures  from  her  uncle  or  from  him,  like  the  prettiest 
little  velvet  panther  conceivable  lying  flat  in  a  blind  path, 
deranging  nobody,  but  waiting  with  amiable  tranquillity 
for  her  friends  to  come  her  way. 


96          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Thus,  under  the  smooth  surface  of  the  little  society  at 
Font  Abbey,  finesse  was  cannily  at  work.  But  the  surface 
of  every  society  is  like  the  skin  of  a  man — hides  a  deal  of 
secret  machinery. 

Here  were  two  undermining  a  "  coy  jade"  (perhaps,  on 
the  whole,  Uncle  Fountain,  it  might  be  more  prudent  in 
you  not  to  call  her  that  name  again  ;  you  see  she  is  my  he- 
roine, and  I  am  a  man  that  could  cut  you  out  of  this  story, 
and  nobody  miss  you),  and  the  coy  jade  watching  for  the 
miners  like  a  sweet  little  velvet  panther,  and,  to  fling  away 
metaphor,  an  honest  heart  set  aching  sore  hard  by  for  hav- 
ing come  among  such  a  lot. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  FABLE  tells  us  a  fowler  one  day  saw  sitting  in  tree  a 
wood-pigeon.  This  is  a  very  shy  bird,  so  he  had  to  creep 
and  manosuvre  to  get  within  gun-shot  unseen,  unheard. 
He  stole  from  tree  to  tree,  and  muffled  his  footsteps  in  the 
long  grass  so  adroitly  that,  just  as  he  was  going  to  pull  the 
trigger,  he  stepped  light  as  a  feather  on  a  venomous  snake. 
It  bit ;  he  died. 

This  is  instructive  and  pointed,  but  a  trifle  severe. 

What  befell  Uncle  Fountain,  busy  enmeshing  his  cock 
and  hen  pheasant,  netting  a  niece  and  a  friend,  went  to 
the  same  tune,  but  in  a  lower  key,  as  befitted  a  domestic 
tale.* 

Among  his  letters  at  breakfast-time  came  one  which  he 
had  no  sooner  read  than  he  flung  on  the  table  and  went 
into  a  fury.  Lucy  sat  aghast;  then  inquired  in  tender 
anxiety  what  was  the  matter. 

Angry  explanations  are  apt  to  be  dark  ones.  "  It  is  a 
confounded  shame — it  is  a  trick,  child — it  is  a  do." 

*  "Domestic,"  you  are  aware,  is  Latin  for  "tame."  Ex.,  "do- 
mestic fowl,"  "domestic  drama."  "story  of  domestic  interest,"  "or 
chronicle  of  small  beer." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  97 

"  Ah !  what  is  that,  uncle  *  '  a  do  ¥ — '  a  do  ?'  " 

"Yes,  'a  do.'  He  knew  I  hated  figures;  can't  bear  the 
sight  of  them,  and  the  cursed  responsibility  of  adding  them 
up  right." 

"But  who  knew  all  thisl" 

"  He  came  over  here  bursting  with  health,  and  asked  me 
to  be  one  of  his  executors — mind,  one.  I  consented  on  a 
distinct  understanding  I  was  never  to  be  called  upon  to  act. 
He  was  twenty  years  my  junior,  and  like  so  much  mahog- 
any ;  it  was  just  a  form ;  I  did  it  to  soothe  a  man  who 
called  himself  my  friend,  and  set  his  mind  at  rest." 

"  But,  uncle  dear,  I  don't  understand  even  now.  Can  it 
be  possible  that  a  friend  has  abused  your  good-nature  ?" 

"  A  little,"  with  an  angry  sneer. 

"  Has  he  betrayed  your  confidence  ?" 

"Hasn't  he  «" 

"  Oh  dear !     What  has  he  done  ?" 

"  Died,  that  is  all,"  snarled  the  victim. 

"  Oh,  uncle !     Poor  man !" 

"  Poor  man,  no  doubt.  But  how  about  poor  me "?  Why, 
it  turns  out  I  am  sole  executor." 

"  But,  dear  uncle,  how  could  the  poor  soul  help  dying  ?" 

"  That  is  not  candid,  Lucy,"  said  Mr.  Fountain,  severely. 
"  Did  ever  I  say  he  could  help  dying  1  But  he  could  help 
coming  here  under  false  colors,  a  mahogany  face,  and  trap- 
ping his  friend." 

"  Uncle,  what  is  the  use — your  trying  to  play  the  mis- 
anthrope with  me,  who  know  how  good  you  are,  in  spite  of 
your  pretenses  to  the  contrary?  To  hide  your  emotion 
from  your  poor  niece,  you  go  into  a  feigned  fury,  and  all 
the  time  you  know  how  sorry  you  are  your  poor  friend  is 
gone." 

"  Of  course  I  am.  He  has  secured  one  mourner.  He 
might  have  died  to  all  eternity  if  he  hadn't  nailed  me  first. 
See  how  selfish  men  are,  and  bad-hearted  into  the  bargain. 
I  believe  that  young  fellow  had  been  to  a  doctor)  and  found 
out  he  was  booked  in  spite  of  his  mahogany  cheeks;  so 

E 


98  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

then  he  rides  out  here  and  wheedles  an  unguarded  friend — 
I'm  wired — I'm  trapped — I'm  snared." 

Lucy  set  herself  to  soothe  her  injured  relative:  "You 
must  say  to  yourself,  '  C'est  un  petit  mal/ieur.'" 

"  Tell  myself  a  falsehood  ?  What  shall  I  gain  by  that  ? 
Let  me  tell  you,  it  is  these  minor  troubles  that  send  a  man 
to  Bedlam :  one  breeds  another,  till  they  swarm  and  buzz 
you  distracted,  and  sting  you  dead.  '  Petit  malheur  /'  it  is 
a  greater  one  than  you  have  ever  encountered  since  you 
have  been  under  my  wing." 

"  It  is,  dear,  it  is ;  but  I  hope  to  encounter  much  greater 
ones  before  I  am  your  age." 

"  The  deuce  you  do !" 

"  Or  else  I  shall  die  without  ever  having  lived — a  vege- 
table, not  a  human  being." 

"  Bombast !  a  '  flower'  your  lovers  will  call  you." 

"  And  men  of  sense  a  '  weed.'  But  don't  let  us  discuss 
me.  What  I  wish  to  know  is  the  nature  of  your  annoy- 
ance, dear."  He  explained  to  her  with  a  groan  that  he 
should  have  to  wind  up  all  the  affairs  of  an  estate  of  £8000 
a  year,  pay  the  annual  and  other  incumbrances,  etc.,  etc. 

"  Well,  but,  dear,  you  will  be  quite  at  homo  in  this,  you 
have  such  a  turn  for  business." 

"  For  my  own,"  shrieked  the  old  bachelor,  angrily,  "  not 
for  other  people's.  Why,  Lucy,  there  will  be  half  a  dozen 
separate  accounts,  all  of  four  figures.  It  is  not  as  if  execu- 
tors were  paid.  And  why  are  they  not  paid  1  There  ought 
to  be  a  law  compelling  the  estates  they  administer  to  pay 
them,  and  handsomely.  It  never  occurred  to  me  before, 
but  now  I  see  the  monstrous  iniquity  of  amateur  executors, 
amateur  trustees,  amateur  guardians.  They  take  business 
out  of  the  hands  of  those  who  live  by  business :  I  sincerely 
regret  my  share  in  this  injustice.  If  a  snob  works,  he  al- 
ways expects  to  be  paid !  how  much  mope  a  gentleman. 
He  ought  to  be  paid  double— —once  for  the  work,  and  once 
for  giving  up  his  natural  ease.  Here  am  I,  guardian  gratis 
to  a  cub  of  sixteen — the  worst  age — done  school,  and  not 
begun  Oxford  and  governesses." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  99 

"Tutors,  you  mean." 

"Do  I?  Is  it  the  tutors  the  whelps  fall  in  love  with, 
little  goose  ?  Stop :  I'll  describe  my  '  interesting  charge,' 
as  the  books  call  it.  He  has  hair  you  could  not  tell  from 
tow.  He  has  no  eyebrows — a  little  unfledged  slippery  hor- 
ror. He  used  to  come  in  to  dessert,  and  turn  all  our  stom- 
achs except  his  silly  father's." 

"Poor  orphan!" 

"  When  you  speak  to  him  he  never  answers — blushes  in- 
stead." 

"  Poor  child  I" 

"  He  has  read  of  eloquent  blushes,  and  thinks  there  is  no 
need  to  reply  in  words — blushing  must  be  such  an  interest- 
ing and  effective  substitute." 

"Poor  boy,  he  wants  a  little  judicious  kindness.  We 
will  have  him  here." 

"  Here !"  cried  the  old  gentleman,  with  horror.  "  What ! 
make  Font  Abbey  a  kennel ! !  !  No,  Lucy,  no,  this  house 
is  sacred ;  no  nuisances  admitted  here.  Here,  on  this  sin- 
gle spot  of  earth,  reigns  comfort,  and  shall  reign  unruffled 
while  I  live.  This  is  the  temple  of  peace.  If  I  must  be 
worried,  I  must,  but  not  beneath  this  hallowed  roof." 

This  eloquence,  delivered  as  it  was  with  a  sudden  solem- 
nity, told  upon  the  mind. 

"  Dear  Font  Abbey,"  murmured  Lucy,  half  closing  her 
eyes,  "  how  well  you  describe  it !  Socites  of  the  cosy ; 
the  walls  seem  padded,  the  carpets  velvet,  and  the  whole 
structure  care-proof:  all  is  quiet  gayety  and  sweet  punctu- 
ality. Here  comfort  and  good-humor  move  by  clock-work : 
that  is  Font  Abbey.  Yet  you  are  right ;  if  you  were  to  be 
seen  in  it  no  more,  it  would  lose  the  life  of  its  charm,  dear 
Uncle  Fountain." 

"  Thank  you,  my  dear — thank  you.  I  do  like  to  see  my 
friends  about  me  comfortable,  and,  above  all,  to  be  comfor- 
table myself.  The  place  is  well  enough,  and  I  am  bitterly 
sorry  I  must  leave  it,  and  sorry  to  leave  you,  my  dear." 

"  Leave  us  ?  not  immediately  ?" 


100         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  This  very  day.  Why  the  funeral  is  to  be  this  week — a 
grand  funeral — and  I  have  to  order  it  all.  Then  there  are 
relatives  to  be  invited — thirty  letters — others  to  be  asked 
to  the  reading  of  the  will.  It  will  be  one  hurry-scurry  till 
we  get  the  house  clear  of  the  corpse  and  the  vultures ;  then 
at  it  I  must  go,  head  foremost,  into  fathomless  addition — 
subtraction — multiplication,  and  vexation.  '  Oh,  now  for- 
ever farewell,  something  or  other — farewell  content !'  You 
talk  of  misanthropy.  I  shall  end  there.  Lucy." 

"Yes,  dear  uncle." 

"I  never — do — a  good-natured  thing — but — I — bitterly 
— repent  it.  By  Jupiter !  the  coffee  is  cold  ;  the  first  time 
that  has  befallen  me  since  I  turned  off  seven  servants  that 
battled  that  point  of  comfort  with  me." 

Lucy  suggested  that  the  coffee  might  have  cooled  a  little 
while  he  was  being  so  kind  as  to  answer  her  question  at 
unusual  length.  Then  she  came  round  to  him  bringing  a 
fresh  supply  of  fragrant  slow  poison,  and  sat  beside  him  and 
soothed  him  till  his  ire  went  down,  and  came  the  calm  de- 
pression of  a  man  who,  accustomed  for  many  years  to  do 
just  what  he  liked,  found  himself  suddenly  obliged  to  do 
something  he  did  not  like — a  thing  out  of  the  groove  of  his 
habits  too. 

Sure  enough,  he  left  Font  Abbey  the  same  day,  with  a 
promise,  exacted  by  Lucy,  that  he  should  make  her  the  part- 
ner of  all  his  vexations  by  writing  to  her  every  day. 

"And,  Lucy,"  said  the  old  Parthian,  as  he  stepped  into 
his  traveling-carriage,  "  my  friend  Talboys  will  miss  me ; 
pray  be  kind  to  him  while  I  am  away.  He  is  a  particular 
friend  of  mine.  I  may  be  wrong,  hut  I  do  like  men  of 
known  origin — of  old  family." 

"  And  you  are  right.  I  will  be  kind  to  him  for  your  sake, 
dear." 

A  slight  cold  confined  Lucy  to  the  house  for  three  or  four 
days  after  her  uncle's  departure  (by-the-by,  I  think  this 
must  have  been  the  reason  of  David's  ill  success  in  his  en- 
deavors to  get  an  interview  with  her  out  of  doors). 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  101 

Thus  circumstanced,  ladies  rummage. 

Lucy  found  in  a  garret  a  chest  containing  a  quantity  of 
papers  and  parchments,  and  the  beautifulest  dust.  No  such 
dust  is  made  in  these  degenerate  days.  Some  of  these  MSS. 
bore  recent  dates,  and  were  easily  legible,  though  not  so 
easily  intelligible,  being  written  as  Gratiano  spake.*  The 
writers  had  omitted  to  put  the  idea'd  words  into  red  ink,  so 
they  had  to  be  picked  out  with  infinite  difficulty  from  the 
multitude  of  unidea'd  ones. 

Other  of  the  MSS.,  more  ancient,  wore  a  double  veil. 
They  hid  their  sense  in  verbiage,  and  also  in  narrow  Ger- 
manified  letters,  farther  deformed  by  contractions  and  orna- 
mental flourishes,  whose  joint  effect  made  a  word  look  like 
a  black  daddy-long-legs,  all  sprawling  fantastic  limbs  and 
the  body  a  dot. 

The  perusal  of  these  pieces  was  slow  and  painful ;  it  was 
like  walking  or  slipping  about  among  broken  ruins  over- 
grown with  nettles.  But  then  Uncle  Fountain  was  so  anx- 
ious to  hook  on  to  the  Flunkeys — oh  Ciel!  what  am  I  say- 
ing ? — the  Funteyns,  and  his  direct  genealogical  evidence 
had  so  completely  broken  down.  She  said  to  herself,  "  Oh 
dear !  if  I  could  find  something  ampng  these  old  writings, 
and  show  it  him  on  his  return."  She  had  them  all  dusted 
and  brought  down,  and  a  table-cloth  laid  on  a  long  table  in 
the  drawing-room,  and  spelled  them  with  a  good-humored 
patience  that  belonged  partly  to  her  character,  partly  to  her 
sex.  A  female  who  undertakes  this  sort  of  work  does  not 
skip  as  we  should ;  the  habit  of  needle-work  in  all  its 
branches  reconciles  that  portion  of  mankind  to  invisible  pro- 
gress in  other  matters. 

Besides  this,  they  are  naturally  careful,  and,  above  all, 
born  to  endure,  they  carry  patience  into  nearly  all  they  do.f 

*  "Gratiano  speaks  an  infinite  deal  of  nothing  ....  his  reasons 
are  as  three  grains  of  wheat  in  two  bushels  of  chaff." 

t  At  about  the  third  rehearsal  of  a  new  play  our  actresses  bring 
the  author's  words  in  their  heads,  our  actors  are  still  all  abroad,  and 
at  the  first  performance  the  breaks-down  are  sure  to  be  among  the 
males ;  the  female  jumenta  carry  their  burden  (be  it  of  pig-lead)  safe 
from  wing  to  wing. 


'02         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Lucy  made  her  way  manfully  through  all  the  well-writ- 
ten circumlocution,  and  in  a  very  short  time  considering ; 
but  the  antique  BarroAoyta  tried  her  eyes  too  much  at 
night,  so  she  gave  nearly  her  whole  day  to  it,  for  she  was 
anxious  to  finish  all  before  her  uncle's  return.  It  was  a 
curious  picture — Venus  immersed  in  musty  records. 

One  day  she  had  studied  and  spelled  four  mortal  hours, 
when  a  visitor  was  suddenly  announced — Miss  Dodd.  That 
young  lady  came  briskly  in  at  the  heels  of  the  servant,  and 
caught  Lucy  at  her  work.  After  the  first  greeting,  her  eye 
rested  with  such  undisguised  curiosity  on  the  "  mouldy  rec- 
ords" that  Lucy  told  her  in  general  terms  what  she  was 
trying  to  do  for  her  uncle.  "La!"  said  Eve,  "you  will 
ruin  your  eyesight ;  why  not  send  them  over  to  us  ?  I  will 
make  David  read  them." 

"And  his  eyesight1?" 

"Oh,  bless  you,  he  has  a  knack  at  reading  old  writing. 
He  has  made  a  study  of  it." 

"  If  I  thought  I  was  not  presuming  too  far  on  Mr.  Dodd's 
good-nature,  I  would  send  one  or  two  of  them." 

"  Do ;  and  I  will  make  him  draw  up  a  paper  of  the  con- 
tents :  I  have  seen  him  at  this  sort  of  work  before  now. 
But  there,  la !  I  suppose  you  know  it  is  all  vanity." 

"  I  do  it  to  please  my  poor  uncle." 

"And  very  good  you  are;  but  what  the  better  will  the 
poor  old  gentleman  be  ?  We  are  here  to  act  our  own  part 
well :  we  can't  ride  up  to  heaven  on  our  great-grandfather." 

These  maxims  were  somewhat  coldly  received,  so  Eve 
shifted  her  ground.  "  After  all,  I  don't  know  why  I  should 
be  the  one  to  say  that,  for  my  own  name  is  older  than  your 
uncle's,  a  pretty  deal." 

Lucy  looked  puzzled ;  then  suddenly  fancying  she  had 
caught  Eve's  meaning,  she  said,  "  That  is  true.  Hail  moth- 
er of  mankind !  !"  and  bowed  her  head  with  graceful  rever- 
ence. 

Eve  stared  and  colored,  not  knowing  what  on  earth  her 
companion  meant.  I  am  afraid  it  must  be  owned  that  Eve 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  103 

steadily  eschewed  books,  and  always  had.  What  little  book- 
learning  she  had  came  to  her  filtered  through  David,  and  by 
this  channel  she  accepted  it  willingly,  even  sought  it  at  odd 
times,  when  there  was  no  bread,  pudding,  dress,  theology, 
scandal,  or  fun  going  on.  She  turned  it  off  by  a  sudden  in- 
quiry where  Mr.  Fountain  was  :  "  they  told  me  in  the  vil- 
lage he  was  away."  Now  several  circumstances  combined 
to  make  Lucy  more  communicative  than  usual.  First,  she 
had  been  studying  hard  ;  and,  after  long  study,  when  a  live- 
ly person  comes  to  us,  it  is  a  great  incitement  to  talk.  Pit. 
ifui.  by  nature,  I  spare  you  the  "  bent  bow."  Secondly,  she 
was  a  little  anxious  lest  her  uncle's  sudden  neglect  should 
have  mortified  Miss  Dodd,  and  a  neutral  topic  handled  at 
length  tends  to  replace  friendly  feeling  without  direct  and 
unpleasant  explanations.  She  therefore  answered  every 
question  in  full ;  told  her  that  her  uncle  had  lost  a  dear 
friend ;  that  he  was  executor  and  guardian  to  the  poor  boy, 
now  entirely  an  orphan.  Her  uncle,  with  his  usual  zeal  on 
behalf  of  his  friends,  had  gone  off  at  once,  and  doubtless 
would  not  return  till  he  had  fulfilled  in  every  respect  the 
wishes  of  the  deceased. 

To  this  general  sketch  she  added  many  details,  suppress- 
ing the  misanthropy  Mr.  Fountain  had  exhibited  or  affect- 
ed at  the  first  receipt  of  the  intelligence. 

In  short,  angelic  gossip.  Earthly  gossip  always  back- 
bites, you  know.  Eve  missed  something  somehow,  no  doubt 
the  human  or  backbiting  element ;  still,  it  was  gossip,  sa- 
cred gossip,  far  dearer  than  Shakspeare  to  the  female  heart, 
and  Eve's  eyes  glowed  with  pleasure,  and  her  tongue  plied 
eager  questions. 

With  all  this,  such  instinctive  artists  are  these  delicate 
creatures,  both  these  ladies  were  secretly  in  ambush,  Lucy 
to  learn  whether  Eve  and  David  were  hurt  or  surprised  at 
not  being  invited  of  late,  and  why  she  and  he  had  not  called 
since ;  Eve  to  find  out  what  was  the  cause  David  and  she 
had  been  so  suddenly  dropped :  was  it  Lucy's  doing  or 
whose  ? 


104  LOVE    ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

Each  lady  being  bent  on  receiving,  not  on  making  reve*. 
lations,  nothing  transpired  on  either  side.  Seeing  this,  Eve 
became  impatient  and  made  a  bold  move. 

"  Miss  Fountain,"  said  she,  "  you  are  all  alone :  I  wish 
you  would  come  over  to  us  this  evening  and  have  tea." 

Lucy  did  not  immediately  reply.  Eve  saw  her  hesita- 
tion. "It  is  but  a  poor  place,"  said  she,  "to  ask  you  to." 

"I  will  come,"  said  the  lady,  directly.  "I  will  come 
with  great  pleasure." 

"Will  seven  be  too  early  for  you?" 

"  Oh  no.  I  don't  dine  now  my  uncle  is  away.  I  call 
luncheon  dinner." 

"  Perhaps  six,  then  1" 

"Pray  let  me  come  at  your  usual  hour.  Why  derange 
your  family  for  one  person  ?"  Six  o'clock  was  settled. 

"  I  must  take  some  of  this  rubbish  with  me,"  said  Eve; 
"  come  along,  my  dears ;"  and  with  an  ample  and  mock 
enthusiastic  gesture  she  caught  up  an  armful  of  manu- 
scripts. 

"  The  servant  shall  take  them  over  for  you." 

"  Oh,  bother  the  servant ;  I  am  my  own  servant — if  you 
will  lend  me  a  pin  or  two." 

Lucy  drew  six  pins  out  from  different  parts  of  her  dress. 
Eve  noticed  this,  but  said  nothing.  She  pinned  up  her 
apron  so  as  to  make  an  enormous  pocket,  and  went  gayly 
off  with  the  "  spoils  of  time." 


CHAPTER  VII. 

"Is  that  what  you  call  being  calm,  David?  Let  me 
alone — don't  slobber  me.  I  am  sure  I  wish  she  had  said 
'  No.'  If  I  had  thought  she  would  come  I  would  never 
have  asked  her." 

"  You  would,  Eve  ;  you  would,  for  love  of  me." 
"Who  knows?  perhaps  I  might.     I  am  more  indulgent 
than  kind." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         105 

"  Eve,  do  tell  me  all.  Is  she  well  ?  does  she  come  of  her 
own  good-will  ?  Dear  Eve !" 

"  Well,  I'll  tell  you :  first  we  had  a  bit  of  a  talk  for  a 
blind  like;  and  her  uncle  is  away;  so  then  I  asked  her 
plump  to  come  to  tea.  Well,  David,  first  she  looked  '  No' 
— only  for  a  single  moment,  though ;  she  soon  altered  her 
mind,  and  so  then,  the  moment  it  was  to  be  '  Yes,'  she 
cleared  up,  and  you  would  have  thought  she  had  been  asked 
to  the  king's  banquet.  Ah  !  David,  my  lad,  you  have 
fallen  into  good  hands — you  have  launched  your  heart  on  a 
deeper  ocean  than  ever  your  ship  sailed  on." 

David  took  no  notice.  He  was  in  a  state  of  exaltation 
for  one  thing,  and,  besides,  Eve's  simile  was  sent  to  the 
wrong  address :  we  terrestrials  fear  water  in  proportion  to 
its  depth,  but  these  mariners  dread  their  native  element  only 
when  it  is  shallow. 

David  now  kept  asking  in  an  excited  way  what  they 
could  do  for  her.  "  What  could  they  get  to  do  her  honor? 
Wouldn't  she  miss  the  luxuries  of  her  fine  place  f 

"  Now  you  be  quiet,  David  ;  we  need  not  put  ourselves 
about,  for  she  will  be  the  easiest  girl  to  please  you  have  ever 
seen  here ;  or,  if  she  isn't,  she'll  act  it  so  that  you'll  be 
none  the  wiser.  However,  you  can  go  and  buy  some  flow- 
ers for  me." 

"  That  I  will ;  we  have  none  good  enough  for  her  here." 

"  And,  David,  tea  under  the  catalpa,  as  we  always  do  on 
fine  nights." 

"You  don't  mean  that." 

"  Ah !  but  I  do :  these  fine  ladies  are  all  for  novelties. 
Now  I'm  much  mistaken  if  this  one  has  ever  had  her  tea 
out  of  doors  in  all  her  born  days.  What !  do  you  think 
our  little  stuffy  room  would  be  any  treat  to  her,  after  the 
drawing-room  at  Font  Abbey  ?  Come,  you  be  off  till  half 
past  five ;  you'll  fidget  yourself  and  fidget  me  else." 

David  recognized  her  superiority,  obeyed,  and  vanished. 

Eve,  having  got  rid  of  him,  showed  none  of  the  insouci- 
ance she  had  recommended.  She  darted  into  the  kitchen, 
E2 


106  LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

bared  her  arms,  and  made  wheaten  cakes  with  unequaled 
rapidity,  the  servant  looking  on  with  demure  admiration  all 
the  while.  These  put  into  the  oven,  she  got  her  keys  and 
put  out  the  silver  tea-pot,  cream-jug,  and  sugar-basin,  things 
not  used  every  day,  I  can  tell  you :  item,  the  best  old  china 
tea-service ;  item,  some  rare  tea,  of  which  David  had  brought 
home  a  small  quantity  from  China.  At  six  o'clock  Miss 
Fountain  came  :  a  footman  marched  twenty  yards  behind 
her.  She  dismissed  him  at  the  door,  and  Eve  invited  her 
at  once  into  the  garden.  There  David  joined  them,  his 
heart  beating  violently.  She  put  out  her  hand  kindly  and 
calmly,  and  shook  hands  with  him  in  the  most  unembar- 
rassed way  imaginable.  At  the  touch  of  her  soft  hand  ev- 
ery fibre  in  him  thrilled,  and  the  color  rushed  into  his  face. 
At  this  a  faint  blush  tinged  her  own,  but  no  more  than  the 
warm  welcome  she  was  receiving  might  account  for. 

They  seated  her  in  a  comfortable  chair  under  the  catalpa. 
Presently  out  came  a  nice  clean  maid,  her  white  neck  half 
hidden,  half  revealed  by  plain  unfigured  muslin  worn  where 
the  frock  ended.  She  put  the  tea-things  on  the  table,  and 
courtesied  to  Lucy,  who  returned  her  salute  by  a  benignant 
smile.  Out  came  another  stouter  one  with  the  kettle,  hung 
it  from  a  hoop  between  two  stout  sticks,  and  lighted  a  fire 
she  had  laid  underneath,  retiring  with  a  parting  look  at  the 
kettle  as  soon  as  it  hissed.  Then  returned  maid  one  with 
bread,  and  wheaten  cakes,  and  fruit,  butter  nice  and  hard 
from  the  cellar,  and  yellow  cream,  and  went  off  smiling. 

A  gentle  zeal  seemed  to  animate  these  domestics,  as  if 
they  also,  in  relative  proportions,  gave  the  fete,  or  at  least 
contributed  good-will.  Lucy's  quick  eye  caught  this :  it 
was  new  to  her. 

The  tea  was  soon  made,  and  its  Oriental  fragrance  min- 
gled with  the  other  odors  that  filled  the  balmy  air.  Gay 
golden  broken  lights  flickered  in  patches  on  the  table, 
the  china  cups,  the  ladies'  dresses,  and  the  grass,  all  but  in 
one  place,  where  the  cool  deep  shadow  lay  undisturbed 
around  the  foot  of  the  tree-stem.  Looking  up  to  see  whence 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  107 

the  flickering  gold  came  that  sprinkled  her  white  hand, 
Lucy  saw  one  of  the  loveliest  and  commonest  things  in  na- 
ture :  the  sky  was  blue — the  sun  fiery — the  air  potable 
gold  outside  the  tree,  so  that,  as  she  looked  up,  the  mellow 
green  leaves  of  the  catalpa,  coming  between  her  and  the 
bright  sky  and  glowing  air,  shone  like  transparent  gold — 
staircase  upon  staircase  of  great  exotic  translucent  leaves, 
with  specks  of  lovely  blue  sky  that  seemed  to  come  down 
and  perch  among  the  top  branches.  Charming  as  these 
sights  were,  contrast  doubled  their  beauties ;  for  all  these 
dimples  of  bright  blue  and  flakes  of  translucent  gold  were 
eyed  from  the  cool  and  from  the  deep  shade.  The  light,  it 
is  true,  came  down  and  danced  on  the  turf  here  and  there, 
but  it  left  its  heat  behind  through  running  the  gauntlet  of 
the  myriad  leaves.  Over  Lucy's  head  hung  by  a  silk  line 
from  one  of  the  branches  a  huge  globe  of  humble  but  fra- 
grant flowers ;  they  were,  in  point  of  fact,  fastened  with 
marvelous  skill  all  round  a  damp  sponge,  but  she  did  not 
know  that.  Thus  these  simple  hosts  honored  their  lovely 
guest.  And  while  these  sights  and  smells  stole  into  her 
deep  eyes  and  her  delicate  nostrils,  "  Fiddle,  David,"  said 
Eve,  loftily,  and  straightway  a  simple  mellow  tune  rang 
sweetly  on  the  cheerful  chords — a  rustic,  dulcet,  and  im- 
mortal ditty,  in  tune  with  summer  and  afternoon,  with  gold- 
checkered  grass,  and  leaves  that  slumbered  yet  vibrated  in 
the  glowing  air. 

A  bright,  dreamy  hour ;  the  soul  and  senses  floated  gen- 
tly in  color,  fragrance,  melody,  and  great  calm.  "Each 
sound  seemed  but  an  echo  of  tranquillity." 

Lucy  looked  up  and  absorbed  the  scene,  then  closed  them 
and  listened ;  and  presently  her  lips  parted  gradually  in  so 
ravishing  a  smile,  her  eyes  remaining  closed,  that  even  Eve, 
who  saw  her  in  her  true  light,  a  terrible  girl  come  there 
to  burn  and  destroy  David,  remaining  cool  as  a  cucumber, 
could  hardly  forbear  seizing  and  mumbling  her. 

In  certain  companies  you  shall  see  a  boisterous  cordiali- 


108         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

ty,  which  at  bottom  is  as  hollow  as  diplomacy ;  but  there  is 
a  modest  geniality  which  is  to  society  what  the  bloom  is  to 
the  plum. 

And  this  charm  Lucy  found  in  her  hosts  of  the  catalpa. 
For  this  very  reason  that  they  were  her  hosts,  their  manner 
to  her  changed  a  little,  and  becomingly ;  they  made  no  se- 
cret that  it  was  a  downright  pleasure  to  them  to  have  her 
there.  They  petted  her,  and  showed  her  so  much  simple 
kindness,  that  what  with  the  scene,  the  music,  and  her  com- 
panions' goodness,  the  coy  bud  opened — timidly  at  first — 
but  in  a  way  it  never  had  expanded  at  Font  Abbey. 

She  even  developed  a  feeble  sense  of  fun,  followed  suit  de- 
murely when  Eve  came  out  sprightly,  laughed  like  a  brook 
gurgling  to  Eve's  peal  of  bells,  and  lo  and  behold,  when  the 
two  girls  got  together,  and  faced  the  man,  strong  in  num- 
bers, a  favorite  trick,  backed  her  ally  as  cowards  back  the 
brave,  and  set  her  on  to  sauce  David.  They  cast  doubts 
upon  his  skill  in  navigation.  They  perplexed  him  with 
treacherous  questions  in  geography,  put  with  an  innocent 
affectation  of  a  humble  desire  for  information.  In  short, 
they  played  upon  him  lightly  as  they  touch  the  piano. 
And  Eve  caroled  a  song,  and  David  accompanied  her  on 
the  fiddle ;  and  at  the  third  verse  Lucy  chimed  in  sponta- 
neously with  a  second,  and  the  next  verse  David  struck  in 
with  a  base,  and  the  tepid  air  rang  with  harmony,  and  poor 
David  thrilled  with  happiness.  His  heart  felt  his  voice 
mingle  and  blend  with  hers,  and  even  this  contact  was  de- 
licious to  his  imagination.  And  they  were  happy.  But  all 
must  end ;  the  shades  of  evening  came  down,  and  the  pleas- 
ant little  party  broke  up,  and  as  John  had  not  come,  Da%  id 
asked  leave  to  escort  her  home.  Oh  no,  she  could  not  think 
of  giving  him  that  trouble ;  so  saying,  she  went  home  with 
him.  When  they  were  alone,  his  deep  love  made  him  timid 
and  confused.  He  walked  by  her  side,  and  did  not  speak 
to  her.  She  waited  with  some  surprise  at  this  silence,  and 
then,  as  he  was  shy,  she  talked  to  him,  uttered  many  airy 
nothings,  and  then  put  questions  to  him.  "  Did  he  always 
drink  tea  out  of  doors  ?" 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  109 

"  On  fine  nights  in  summer.  Eve  settled  all  such  mat- 
ters." 

" Have  you  not  a  voice?" 

"  I  have  a  voice,  but  no  vote.     She  is  skipper  ashore." 

"  Oh,  is  she  ?  Who  taught  her  how  delicious  it  is  to 
drink  tea  out  of  doors  ?" 

David  did  not  know — fancied  it  was  her  own  idea.  "  Did 
you  really  like  it,  Miss  Fountain  ?" 

"  Like  it,  Mr.  Dodd !  it  was  Elysium.  I  never  passed  a 
sweeter  evening  in  my  life." 

David  colored  all  over.      "I  wish  I  could  believe  that." 

"Was  it  the  tulip-tree,  or  the  violin,  or  was  it  your  con- 
versation, Mr.  Dodd,  I  wonder  ?"  asked  she  demurely,  look- 
ing mock  innocent  in  his  face. 

"  It  was  your  goodness  to  be  so  easily  pleased,"  said  Dodd, 
with  a  gush  that  made  her  color.  She  smiled,  however. 
"Well,  that  is  one  way  of  looking  at  things,"  said  she. 
"  Entre  nous,  I  think  Miss  Dodd  was  the  enchantress." 

"  Eve  is  capital  company,  for  that  matter." 

"  Indeed  she  is  ;  you  must  be  very  happy  together.  Your 
mutual  affection  is  very  charming,  Mr.  Dodd,  but  sometimes 
it  almost  makes  me  sad :  forgive  me !  I  have  no  brother." 

"  You  will  never  want  one  to  love  you  a  thousand  times 
better  than  a  brother  can  love." 

"  Oh,  sha'n't  I?"  said  the  lady,  and  opened  her  eyes. 

"  No ;  and  there  is  more  than  one  that  worships  the 
ground  you  tread  on  at  this  moment ;  but  you  know  that." 

"  Oh,  do  I  f     She  opened  her  eyes  still  wider. 

David  longed  to  tell  her  how  he  loved  her,  but  dared  not. 
He  looked  wistfully  at  her  face :  it  was  quite  calm,  and  had 
suddenly  become  a  little  reserved.  He  felt  he  was  on  new 
and  dangerous  ground :  he  sighed  and  was  silent.  He 
turned  away  his  face.  When  this  involuntary  sigh  broke 
from  him  she  turned  her  head  a  little  and  looked  at  him. 
He  felt  her  eye  dwell  on  him,  and  his  cheeks  burned  un- 
der it. 

The  next  moment  they  were  at  Font  Hill,  and  Lucy  seemed 


110  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

to  David  to  hesitate  whether  to  give  him  her  hand  at  part- 
ing or  not. 

She  did  give  him  her  hand,  though  not  so  freely,  David 
thought,  as  she  had  done  on  his  own  little  lawn  three  hours 
before,  and  this  dashed  his  spirits.  It  seemed  to  him  a  step 
lost,  and  he  had  hoped  to  gain  a  step  somehow  by  walking 
home  with  her.  He  felt  like  one  who  has  undertaken  to 
catch  some  skittish  timorous  thing,  that,  if  you  stand  still, 
will  come  within  a  certain  small  but  safe  distance,  but  you 
must  not  move  a  step  toward  it,  or,  whiiT,  away  it  is.  He 
went  slowly  home,  his  heart  warm  and  cold  by  turns :  warm 
when  he  remembered  the  sweet  hours  he  had  just  spent,  and 
her  sweet  looks  and  heavenly  tones,  every  one  of  which  he 
saw  and  heard  again ;  cold  when  he  thought  of  the  social 
distance  that  separated  them,  and  the  hundred  chances  to 
one  against  his  love.  Then  he  said  to  himself,  "  Time  was 
I  thought  I  could  never  bring  a  yard  down  from  the  fore- 
top  to  the  deck,  but  I  mastered  that.  Time  was  I  thought 
I  could  never  work  out  a  logarithm  without  a  formula,  but 
I  mastered  that.  Time  was  the  fiddle  beat  me  so  I  was 
ready  to  cry  over  it,  but  at  last  I  learned  to  make  it  sing, 
and  now  I  can  make  her  smile  with  it  (God  bless  her!)  in- 
stead of  stopping  her  ears.  I  can  hardly  mind  the  thing 
that  didn't  beat  me  dead  for  a  long  while,  but  I  persevered 
and  got  the  upper  hand.  Ay,  but  this  is  higher  and  harder 
than  them  all — a  hundred  times  harder  and  higher. 

"  I'll  hold  my  course,  let  the  wind  blow  higJi  or  low,  and 
if  I  can't  overhaul  the  wish  of  my  heart,  well,  I'll  carry  her 
flag  to  the  last.  I'll  die  a  bachelor  for  her  sake,  as  sure  as 
you  are  the  moon,  my  lass,  and  you  the  pole  star,  and  from 
this  hour  I'll  never  look  at  you,  but  I'll  make  believe  it  is 
her  I  am  looking  up  at ;  for  she  is  as  high  above  me,  and 
as  bright  as  you  are.  God  bless  her !  and  to  think  I  never 
even  said  good-night  to  her !  I  stood  there  like  a  mummy." 
And  David  reproached  himself  for  his  unkindness. 

Lucy,  on  entering  the  drawing-room,  was  surprised  to 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  Ill 

find  it  blazing  with  candles,  but  she  was  more  surprised  at 
what  she  saw  seated  calmly  in  an  arm-chair — Mrs.  Bazal- 
gette.  Lucy  stood  transfixed ;  the  audacious  intruder  laugh- 
ed at  her  astonishment ;  the  next  moment  they  intertwined, 
and  fell  to  kissing  one  another  with  tender  violence. 

"  Well,  love,  the  fact  is,  I  was  passing  here  on  my  way 
home  from  Devonshire,  and  I  wanted  particularly  to  speak 
to  you,  so  I  thought  I  would  venture  just  to  pop  in  for  a 
passing  call,  and  lo !  I  find  the  old  ogre  is  absent,  and  not 
expected  back  for  ever  so  long,  so  I  have  installed  myself 
at  his  Font  Abbey,  partly  out  of  love  for  you,  dear,  partly, 
I  confess  it,  out  of  hate  to  him.  You  will  write  and  tell 
me  his  face  when  he  comes  home  and  hears  I  have  been  liv- 
ing and  enjoying  myself  in  his  den.  I  ordered  my  imperial 
into  his  bedroom.  I  took  it  for  granted  that  would  be  the 
only  comfortable  one  in  his  house." 

"  Aunt  Bazalgette !"  cried  Lucy,  turning  pale ;  "  Oh, 
aunt,  what  will  become  of  us  ?" 

"  Don't  be  frightened ;  the  gray-haired  monster  that  dyes 
his  whiskers,  and  gets  him  up  to  look  only  sixty,  interposed 
and  forbade  the  consecration." 

"  I  am  glad  of  it.  You  shall  sleep  in  mine,  dear,  and  I 
will  go  into  the  east  room.  It  is  a  sweet  little  room." 

"  Is  it  ?  then  why  not  put  me  there?" 

Lucy  colored  a  little.  "  I  think  mine  would  suit  you  bet- 
ter, dear,  because  it  is  larger  and  airier,  and — " 

"  I  see.  As  you  please ;  you  know  I  never  make  diffi- 
culties." 

"  And  how  long  have  you  been  here,  aunt?" 

"  About  three  hours." 

"  Three  hours,  and  not  send  for  me !  I  was  only  in  the 
village.  Did  no  one  tell  you  ?" 

"  Yes ;  but  you  know  it  is  not  my  way  to  make  a  fuss 
and  put  people  out.  How  could  I  tell?  You  might  be 
agreeably  employed,  and  I  was  sure  of  you  before  bed- 
time." 

Mighty  fine !  but  the  truth  is,  she  came  to  Font  Abbey 


112  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME    LONG. 

to  pry.     She  had  heard  a  vague  report  about  Lucy  and  a 
gentleman. 

She  was  very  glad  to  find  Lucy  was  out :  it  gave  her  an 
opportunity.  She  sent  for  Lucy's  maid  to  help  her  unpack 
a  dress  or  two — thirteen.  This  girl  was  paid  out  of  Lucy's 
estate,  but  did  not  know  that.  Mrs.  Bazalgette  handed  her 
her  wages,  and  that  gives  an  influence.  The  wily  matron 
did  not  trust  to  that  alone.  In  unpacking  she  gave  the  girl 
a  dress  and  several  smaller  presents,  and,  this  done,  slowly 
and  cautiously  pumped  her.  Jane,  to  fulfill  her  share  of  a 
bargain,  which,  though  never  once  alluded  to,  was  perfectly 
understood  between  both  the  parties,  told  her  all  she  knew 
and  all  she  conjectured ;  told  her,  in  particular,  how  con- 
stantly Mr.  Talboys  was  in  the  house,  and  how,  one  night, 
the  old  gentleman  had  walked  part  of  the  way  home  with 
him,  "  which  Mr.  Thomas  says  he  didn't  think  his  master 
would  do  it  for  the  king,  mum !"  and  had  come  in  all  in  a 
flurry,  and  sent  up  for  miss,  and  swore*  awful  when  she 
couldn't  come  because  she  was  abed.  "So  you  may  depend, 
mum,  it  is  so;  leastways  the  gentlemen  they  are  willing. 
"We  talk  it  over  mostly  every  day  in  the  servants'  hall,  mum, 
and  we  are  all  of  a  mind  so  fur ;  but  whether  it  will  come 
to  a  wedding,  that  we  haven't  a  settled  yet.  It's  miss  beats 
us  ;  she  is  like  no  other  young  lady  ever  I  came  a  nigh.  A 
man  or  a  woman,  it  is  all  the  same  to  her — a  kind  word  for 
every  body,  and  pass  on.  But  I  do  really  think  she  likes 
her  own  side  of  the  house  a  trifle  the  best." 
"  And  there  you  don't  agree  with  her,  Jane  ?" 
"  Well,  mum — being  as  we  are  alone — now  is  it  natural  ? 
But  Mr.  Thomas  he  says,  '  The  cold  ones  take  the  first  offer 
that  comes  when  there  is  money  ahind  it.  It  isn't  us  they 
wants,'  says  he.  I  told  him  I  should  think  not  the  likes  of 
him — 'but  our  house  and  land,'  says  he,  'and  hopera  box 
and  cetera.'  'But  I  don't  think  that  of  our  one,'  says  I; 
'  bless  you,  she  is  too  high-minded.'  But  what  I  think, 

*  The  ladies  of  the  bedchamber  will  embellish.     After  all,  it  is 
their  business. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME    LONG.  113 

mum,  is,  she  wouldn't  say  '  no'  to  her  uncle ;  her  mouth 
don't  seem  made  for  saying  no,  especially  to  him ;  and  he 
is  bent  on  Talboys,  mum,  you  take  my  word." 

To  return  to  the  drawing-room :  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  after 
the  above  delicate  discussion,  sat  there  in  ambush,  knowing 
more  of  Lucy's  affairs  than  Lucy  knew.  Her  next  point 
was  to  learn  Lucy's  sentiments,  and  to  find  whether  she  was 
deliberately  playing  false  and  breaking  her  promise,  vide 
p.  20. 

"  Well,  Lucy,  any  lovers  yet  1" 

"No,  aunt." 

"  Take  care,  Lucy,  a  little  bird  whispers  in  my  ear." 

"  Then  it  is  a  humming-bird,"  and  Lucy  pouted.  "  Now, 
aunt,  did  you  really  come  to  Font  Abbey  to  tease  me  about 
such  nonsense  as — as — gentlemen  ?"  and  Lucy  looked  hurt. 

"  Here's  an  actress  for  you,"  thought  Mrs.  Bazalgette ; 
but  she  calmly  dropped  the  subject,  and  never  recurred  to 
it  openly  all  the  evening,  but  lay  secretly  in  watch,  and  put 
many  subtle  but  seeming  innocent  questions  to  her  niece 
about  her  habits,  her  uncle's  guest,  whether  her  uncle  kept 
a  horse  for  her,  whether  he  bought  it  for  her,  etc.,  etc. 

The  next  morning  Mrs.  Bazalgette  breakfasted  in  bed, 
during  which  process  she  rang  her  bell  seven  times.  Lucy 
received  at  the  breakfast-table  a  letter  from  her  uncle. 

MY  DEAR  NIECE, — The  funeral  was  yesterday,  and,  I  flat- 
ter myself,  well  performed  :  there  were  five-and-twenty  car- 
riages. After  that  a  luncheon,  in  the  right  style,  and  then 
to  the  reading  of  the  will.  And  here  I  shall  surprise  you, 
but  not  more  than  I  was  myself:  I  am  left  £5000  consols. 
My  worthy  friend,  whose  loss  we  are  called  on  so  suddenly 
to  deplore,  accompanied  this  bequest  in  his  will  with  many 
friendly  expressions  of  esteem,  which  I  have  always  studied 
and  shall  study  to  deserve.  He  bequeathed  to  me  also,  dur- 
ing minority,  the  care  of  his  boy,  the  heir  to  this  fine  prop- 
erty, which  far  exceeds  the  value  I  had  imagined.  There 
is  a  letter  attached  to  the  will :  in  compliance  with  it,  AT- 


114  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

thur  is  to  go  to  Cambridge,  but  not  until  he  has  been  well 
prepared.  He  will  therefore  accompany  me  to  Font  Abbey 
to-morrow,  and  I  must  contrive  somehow  or  other  to  find 
him  a  mathematical  tutor  in  the  neighborhood.  There  is  a 
handsome  allowance  made  out  of  the  estate  for  his  board, 
etc.,  etc. 

"  He  is  an  interesting  boy,  and  has  none  of  the  rudeness 
and  mischievousness  they  generally  have — blue  eyes,  soft, 
silky,  flaxen  hair,  and  as  modest  as  a  girl.  His  orphaned 
state  merits  kindness,  and  his  prospects  entitle  him  to  con- 
sideration. I  mention  this  because  I  fancy,  when  we  last 
discussed  this  matter,  I  saw  a  little  disposition  on  your  part 
to  be  satirical  at  the  poor  boy's  expense.  I  am  sure,  how- 
ever, that  you  will  restrain  this  feeling  at  my  request,  and 
treat  him  like  a  younger  brother.  I  only  wish  he  was  three 
or  four  years  older — you  understand  me,  miss. 

"  To-morrow  afternoon,  then,  we  shall  be  at  Font  Abbey. 
Let  him  have  the  east  room,  and  tell  Brown  to  light  a  blaz- 
ing fire  in  my  bedroom,  and  warm  and  air  every  mortal 
thing,  on  pain  of  death. 

"  Your  affectionate  uncle,  JOHN  FOLTNTAIN." 

On  reading  this  letter  Lucy  formed  an  innocent  scheme. 
It  had  long  been  matter  of  regret  to  her  that  Aunt  Bazal- 
gette  could  not  see  the  good  qualities  of  Uncle  Fountain,  and 
Uncle  Fountain  of  Aunt  Bazalgette.  "  It  must  be  mere 
prejudice,"  said  she,  "  or  why  do  I  love  them  both  ?"  She 
had  often  wished  she  could  bring  them  together,  and  make 
them  know  one  another  better ;  they  would  find  out  one 
another's  good  qualities  then,  and  be  friends.  But  how? 
As  Shakspeare  says,  "  Oxen  and  wain-ropes  would  not  haul 
them  together." 

At  last  chance  aided  her — Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  at  Font 
Abbey  actually.  Lucy  knew  that  if  she  announced  Mr. 
Fountain's  expected  return  the  B  would  fly  off  that  minute, 
so  she  suppressed  the  information,  and,  giving  up  to  young 
Arthur  as  she  had  to  Mrs.  B.,  moved  into  a  still  smaller 
room  than  the  east  room. 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  115 

And  now  her  heart  quaked  a  little :  "  but,  after  all,  Uncle 
Fountain  is  a  gentleman,"  thought  she,  "  and  not  capable 
of  showing  hostility  to  her  under  his  own  roof.  Here  she 
is  safe,  though  nowhere  else ;  only  I  must  see  him,  and  ex- 
plain to  him  before  he  sees  her."  With  this  view  Lucy  de- 
clined demurely  her  aunt's  proposal  for  a  walk.  No,  she 
must  be  excused ;  she  had  work  to  do  in  the  drawing-room 
that  could  not  be  postponed. 

"  Work !  that  alters  the  case :  let  me  see  it."  She  took 
for  granted  it  was  some  useful  work — something  that  could 
be  worn  when  done.  "  What !  is  this  it — these  dirty  parch- 
ments ?  Oh  !  I  see ;  it  is  for  that  selfish  old  man ;  who  but 
he  would  set  a  lady  to  parchments'?" 

"  A  bad  guess,"  cried  Lucy,  joyously:  "  I  found  them  my- 
self, and  set  myself  to  work  on  them." 

"  Don't  tell  me !  He  is  at  the  bottom  of  it.  If  it  was  for 
yourself  you  would  give  it  up  directly.  How  amusing  for 
me  to  see  you  work  at  that !"  Lucy  rose  and  bi*ought  her 
the  new  novel.  Mrs.  Bazalgette  took  it  and  sat  down  to 
it,  but  she  could  not  fix  her  attention  long  on  it.  Ladies 
whose  hearts  are  in  dress  have  no  taste  for  books,  however 
frivolous ;  can't  sit  them  for  above  a  second  or  two.  Mrs. 
Bazalgette  fidgeted  and  fidgeted,  and  at  last  rose  and  left 
the  room,  book  in  hand.  "  How  unkind  I  am  !"  said  Lucy 
to  herself. 

She  was  sitting  sentinel  till  the  carriage  should  arrive ; 
then  she  could  run  down  and  prepare  her  uncle  for  his  inno- 
cent and  accidental  visitor;  ii  would  not  be  prudent  to  let 
him  receive  the  information  from  a  servant,  or  without  the 
accompanying  explanation.  This  it  was  that  made  her  so 
unnaturally  firm  when  the  little  idle  B  pressed  her  to  waste 
in  play  the  shining  hours. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  went  book  in  hand  to  her  bedroom  and 
had  not  been  there  long  before  she  found  employment.  Many 
of  Lucy's  things  were  still  in  the  wardrobes.  Mrs.  B.  rum- 
maged them,  inspected  them  at  the  window,  and  ended  by 
ringing  for  her  maid  and  trying  divers  of  her  niece's  dresses 


116         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

on.  "They  make  her  dresses  better  than  they  do  mine: 
they  take  more  pains."  At  last  she  found  one  that  was 
new  to  her,  though  Lucy  had  worn  it  several  times  at  Font 
Abbey. 

"Where  did  she  get  this,  Jane?" 

"Present  from  the  old  gentleman,  mum ;  he  had  it  down 
from  London  for  her  all  at  one  time  with  this  shawl  and 
twelve  puragloves." 

Lucy  looked  two  inches  taller  than  Mrs.  B.,  but  somehow, 
I  can't  tell  how,  this  dress  of  hers  fitted  the  latter  like  a 
glove.  It  embraced  her ;  it  held  her  tenderly,  but  tight,  as 
gowns  and  lovers  should :  the  poor  dear  could  not  get  out 
of  it.  "I  must  wear  it  an  hour  or  two,"  said  she.  "Be- 
sides, it  will  save  my  own,  knocking  about  in  these  country 
lanes."  Thus  attired  she  went  into  the  drawing-room  to 
surprise  Lucy.  Now  Lucy  was  determined  not  to  move ; 
so,  not  to  be  enticed,  she  did  not  even  look  up  from  her 
work ;  on  this  the  other  took  a  mild  huff  and  whisked  out. 

So  keen  are  the  feminine  senses,  that  Lucy,  on  reflection, 
recognized  something  brusque,  perhaps  angry,  in  the  rustle 
of  that  retiring  dress,  and  soon  after  rang  the  bell  and  in- 
quired where  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was.  John  would  make  hen- 
quiries. 

"Your  haunt  is  in  the  back  garden,  miss." 

"  Walking,  or  what  ?" 

John  would  make  henquiries. 

"  She  is  reading,  miss ;  and  she  is  sitting  on  the  seat  mas- 
ter 'ad  made  for  you,  miss." 

"  Very  well ;  thank  you." 

"  Any  more  commands,  miss." 

"  Not  at  present."  John  retired  with  a  regretful  air,  as 
one  capable  of  executing  important  commissions,  but  lost  for 
lack  of  opportunity.  All  the  servants  in  this  house  liked  to 
come  into  contact  with  Lucy.  She  treated  them  with  a 
dignified  kindness  and  reserved  politeness  that  wins  these 
good  creatures  more  than  either  arrogance  or  familiarity. 
"  Jeames  is  not  such  a  fool  as  he  looks." 


kindi 
studen 
some  lit 

Shew 
she  startea 
over  the  stou. 
inquired  if  that 

"  Yes,  miss." 

"  My  uncle  has  sent  *. 
day?"     John  would  inquire 

"  Oh  yes,  miss,  master  is  come, 
of  the  hill,  and  walked  up  through  tht, 
young  gentleman  to  show  him  the  grounds.' 
Lucy  rose  hastily,  snatched  up  a  garden-hat,  anu, 
any  other  preparation,  went  out  to  intercept  her  uncle, 
she  stepped  into  the  garden  she  heard  a  loud  scream,  follow- 
ed by  angry  voices ;  she  threw  her  hands  up  to  heaven  in 
dismay,  and  ran  toward  the  sounds.     They  came  from  the 
back  garden.     She  went  like  lightning  round  the  corner  of 
the  house,  and  came  plump  upon  an  agitated  group,  of  whom 
she  made  one  directly,  spell-bound.     Here  stood  Aunt  Ba- 
zalgette,  her  head   turned  haughtily,  her  cheeks    scarlet. 
There  stood  Mr.  Fountain  on  the  other  side  of  the  rustic 
seat,  red  as  fire  too,  but  wearing  a  hang-dog  look,  and  be- 
hind him  young  Arthur,  pale,  with  two  eyes  like  saucers, 
gazing  awe-struck  at  the  first  row  he  had  ever  seen  between 
a  full-grown  lady  and  gentleman. 

Our  narrative  must  take  a  step  to  the  rear,  as  an  excellent 

writer,  Private ,*  phrases  it,  otherwise  you  might  be 

misled  to  suppose  that  Uncle  Fountain  was  quarreling  with 
Mrs.  B.  for  having  set  her  foot  in  sacred  Font  Abbey. 

*  "I  had  an  escape  myself.  As  I  opened  the  door  of  a  house,  a 
black  fellow  was  behind  waiting  for  me,  and  made  a  chop.  I  took 
a  step  to  the  rear,  fired  through  the  door,  and  cooked  his  goose. " — 
Times. 


d 

to 

ithe 

pertly 

.or  was 

see  my 

.d  to  you, 

very  accom- 

j.     Ah !  there 

*er ;  a  compliment 

-*ur,  the  day  of  my  re- 

j  es,  settled  this  question.     "  The 

,ue  has  dropped  her  book."     And,  in 

Altitude  was  lax  and  not  ungraceful.     Her 

nung  down,  and  the  domestic  story,  its  duty 

_  .eposed  beneath. 

"Now,  Arthur,"  said  the  senior,  making  himself  young 
to  please  the  boy,  and  to  show  him  that,  if  he  looked  old, 
he  was  not  worn  out,  "  would  you  like  a  bit  of  fun  ?  We 
will  startle  her — we'll  give  her  a  kiss."  Arthur  hung  back 
irresolute,  and  his  cheeks  were  dyed  with  blushes. 

"  Not  you,  you  young  rogue :  you  are  not  her  uncle." 
The  old  gentleman  then  stole  up  at  the  back  of  the  seat, 
followed  with  respectful  curiosity  by  Arthur.  She  hap- 
pened to  move  as  the  senior  got  near ;  so,  for  fear  she  was 
going  to  wake  of  herself  and  baffle  the  surprise,  he  made  a 
rush,  and  rubbed  his  beard  a  little  roughly  against  Mrs. 
Bazalgette's  cheek.  Up  starts  that  lady,  who  was  not  fast 
asleep,  but  only  under  the  influence  of  the  domestic  tale,  ut- 
ters a  scream,  and  when  she  sees  her  ravisher,  goes  into  a 
passion. 

"How  dare  you?  What  is  the  meaning  of  this  in- 
sult?" 

"  How  came  you  here  ?"  was  the  reply,  in  an  equally  an- 
gry tone. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  119 

"  Can't  a  lady  come  into  your  little  misery  of  a  garden 
without  being  outraged  ?" 

"It  isn't  the  garden — it  is  only  the  back  garden,"  cried 
the  proprietor  of  Font  Hill ;  "  (blesse)  I'll  swear  that  is  my 
niece's  gown ;  so  you've  invaded  that  too." 

"Aunt  Bazalgette — Uncle  Fountain,  it  was  my  fault,'" 
sighed  a  piteous  voice :  this  was  Lucy  who  had  just  come 
on  the  scene.  "  Dear  uncle,  forgive  me ;  it  was  I  who  in- 
vited her." 

Lucy's  pathetic  tones,  which  were  fast  degenerating  into 
sobs,  were  agreeably  interrupted. 

At  one  and  the  same  moment  the  man  and  woman  of  the 
world  took  a  new  view  of  the  situation,  looked  at  one  an- 
other, and  burst  out  laughing.  Both  these  carried  a  safe- 
ty-valve against  choler — a  trait  that  takes  us  into  many 
follies,  but  keeps  us  out  of  others — a  sense  of  humor.  The 
next  thing  to  relieve  the  situation  was  the  senior's  compre- 
hensive vanity.  He  must  recover  young  Arthur's  rever- 
ence, which  was  doubtless  dissolving  all  this  time.  "Now, 
Arthur,"  he  whispered,  "  take  a  lesson  from  a  gentleman 
of  the  old  school.  I  hate  this  she-devil ;  but  this  is  my 
house,  so — observe."  He  then  strutted  jauntily  and  feebly 
up  to  Mrs.  Bazalgette :  "  Madam,  my  niece  says  you  are 
her  guest ;  but  permit  me  to  dispute  her  title  to  that  hon- 
or." Mrs.  Bazalgette  smiled  agreeably.  She  wanted  to 
stay  a  day  or  two  at  Font  Abbey.  The  senior  flourished 
out  his  arm.  "  Let  me  show  you  what  we  call  the  garden 
here."  She  took  his  arm  graciously.  "  I  shall  be  delight- 
ed, sir  [pompous  old  fool !]" 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  steeled  her  mind  to  admire  the  garden, 
and  would  have  done  so  with  ease  if  it  had  been  hideous. 
But,  unfortunately,  it  was  pretty — prettier  than  her  own ; 
had  grassy  slopes,  a  fountain,  a  grotto,  variegated  beds,  and 
beds  a  blaze  of  one  color  (a  fashion  not  common  at  that 
time)  ;  item,  a  brook  with  water-lilies  on  its  bosom.  "  This 
brook  is  not  mine,  strictly  speaking,"  said  her  host ;  "I  bor- 
rowed it  of  my  neighbor."  The  lady  opened  her  eyes ;  so 


120  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

he  grinned  and  revealed  a  characteristic  transaction.  A 
quarter  of  a  century  ago  he  had  found  the  brook  flowing 
through  a  meadow  close  to  his  garden  hedge.  He  applied 
for  a  lease  of  the  meadow,  and  was  refused  by  the  proprie- 
tor in  the  following  terms :  "  What  is  to"  become  of  my 
cows?"  He  applied  constantly  for  ten  years,  and  met  the 
same  answer.  Proprietor  died,  the  cows  turned  to  ox-beef, 
and  were  eaten  in  London  along  with  flour  and  a  little  tur- 
meric, and  washed  down  with  Spanish  liquorice,  water,  salt, 
gentian,  and  a  little  burnt  malt.  Widow  inherited,  made 
hay,  and  refused  F.  the  meadow  because  her  husband  had 
always  refused  him.  But  in  the  tenth  year  of  her  siege  she 
assented,  for  the  following  reasons :  primo,  she  had  said  "no" 
so  often  the  word  gave  her  a  sense  of  fatigue ;  secundo,  she 
liked  variety,  and  thought  a  change  for  the  worse  must  be 
better  than  no  change  at  all. 

Her  tenant  instantly  cut  a  channel  from  the  upper  part 
of  the  stream  into  his  garden,  and  brought  the  brook  into 
the  lawn,  made  it  write  an  S  upon  his  turf,  then  handed  i*. 
out  again  upon  the  meadow  "none  the  worse,"  his  own 
comment.  These  things  could  be  done  in  the  country — 
jadis. 

It  cost  Mrs.  Bazalgette  a  struggle  to  admire  the  garden 
and  borrowed  stream — they  were  so  pretty.  She  made  the 
struggle  and  praised  all.  Lucy,  walking  behind  the  pair, 
watched  them  with  innocent  satisfaction.  "  How  fast  they 
are  making  friends,"  thought  she,  mistaking  an  armistice 
for  an  alliance. 

"  Since  the  place  is  so  fortunate  as  to  please  you,  you 
will  stay  a  week  with  me,  madam,  at  least." 

"  A  week !  No,  Mr.  Fountain,  I  really  admire  your  cour- 
tesy too  much  to  abuse  it." 

"  Not  at  all ;  you  will  oblige  me." 

"I  can  not  bring  myself  to  think  so." 

"  You  may  believe  me.     I  have  a  selfish  motive." 

"  Oh,  if  you  are  in  earnest." 

"  I  will  explain.     If  you  are  my  guest  for  a  week,  that 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          121 

will  give  me  a  claim  to  be  yours  in  turn ;"  and  he  bent  a 
keen  look  upon  the  lady,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Now  I  shall 
see  whether  you  dare  let  me  spy  on  you  as  you  are  doing 
on  me." 

"  I  propose  an  amendment,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  with  a 
merry  air  of  defiance :  "  for  every  day  I  enjoy  here,  you 
must  spend  two  beneath  my  roof.  On  this  condition,  I  will 
stay  a  week  at  Font  Abbey." 

"I  consent,"  said  Mr.  Fountain,  a  little  sharply.  He 
liked  the  bargain.  "  I  must  leave  you  to  Lucy  for  a  min- 
ute ;  I  have  some  orders  to  give.  I  like  my  guests  to  be 
comfortable."  With  this  he  retired  to  his  study  and  pon- 
dered. "  What  is  she  here  for?  it  is  not  affection  for  Lucy : 
that  is  all  my  eye,  a  selfish  t~aJ  like  her.  (How  agreeable 
she  can  make  herself,  though.)  She  heard  I  was  out,  and 
came  here  •  spy  directly.  That  was  sharp  practice.  Bet- 
ter not  give  her  a  chance  of  seeing  my  game.  I  disarmed 
her  suspicion  by  asking  her  to  stay  a  week,  aha !  Well, 
during  that  week  Talboys  must  not  come,  that  is  all:  aha! 
my  lady,  I  won't  give  those  cunning  eyes  of  yours  a  chance 
of  looking  over  my  hand."  He  then  wrote  a  note  to  Tal- 
boys, telling  him  there  was  a  guest  at  Font  Abbey,  a  disa- 
greeable woman  "  who  makes  mischief  whenever  she  can. 
She  would  be  sure  to  divine  our  intentions,  and  use  all  her 
influence  with  Lucy  to  spite  me.  You  had  better  stay 
away  till  she  is  gone."  He  sent  this  off  by  a  servant,  then 
pondered  again. 

"  She  suspects  something ;  then  that  is  a  sign  she  has  her 
own  designs  on  Lucy.  Hum !  no.  If  she  had,  she  would 
not  have  invited  me  to  her  house.  She  invited  me  directly 
and  cheerfully — hum !" 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  walked  and  sat  with  an  arm  round  Lucy's 
waist,  and  told  her  seven  times  before  dinner  how  happy  she 
was  at  the  prospect  of  a  quiet  week  with  her.  In  the  even- 
ing she  yawned  eleven  times.  Next  day  she  asked  Lucy 
who  was  coming  to  dinner. 

F 


122  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

"Nobody,  dear." 

"Nobody  at  all?" 

"  I  thought  you  would  perhaps  not  care  to  have  our  tete- 
a-tete  interrupted  yet." 

"  Oh !  but  I  should  like  to  explore  the  natives  too." 

"  I  will  give  uncle  a  hint,  dear."  The  hint  was  given 
very  delicately,  but  the  malicious  senior  had  a  perverse  con- 
struction ready  immediately.  "  So  this  is  her  mighty  affec- 
tion for  you :  can't  get  through  two  days  without  strangers." 

"  Uncle,"  said  Lucy,  imploringly,  "  she  is  so  used  to  soci- 
ety, and  she  has  me  all  day ;  we  ought  to  give  her  some  lit- 
tle amusement  at  night." 

"  Well,  I  can't  make  up  parties  now ;  my  friends  are  all 
in  London.  She  only  wants  something  to  flirt  with.  Send 
for  David  Dodd." 

"What,  for  her  to  flirt  with?" 

"  Yes ;  he  is  a  handsome  fellow ;  he  will  serve  her  turn." 

"  For  shame,  uncle ;  what  would  Mr.  Bazalgette  say  ? 
Poor  aunt,  she  is  a  coquette  now." 

"  And  has  been  this  twenty  years." 

"Now  I  was  thinking — Mr.  Talboys?" 

"  Talboys  is  not  at  home ;  she  must  be  content  with  lower 
game.  She  shall  bring  down  David." 

Lucy  hesitated.  "  I  don't  think  she  will  like  Mr.  Dodd, 
and  I  am  sure  he  will  not  like  her." 

"How  can  you  know  that?" 

"  He  is  so  honest.  He  will  not  understand  a  woman  of 
the  world  and  her  little  in — sin — No,  I  don't  mean  that." 

"  Well,  if  he  does  not  understand  her  he  may  like  her." 

"  Aunt,  he  has  made  me  ask  the  Dodds  to  tea,  and  I  am 
afraid  you  will  not  like  them." 

"  Well,  if  I  don't,  we  must  try  some  more  natives  to- 
morrow. Who  are  they?"  Lucy  told  her.  "Pretty  peo- 
ple to  ask  to  meet  me,"  said  she,  loftily.  This  scorn  dis- 
solved in  course  of  the  evening.  Lucy,  anxious  her  guests 
should  be  pleased  with  one  another,  drew  the  Dodds  out. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         123 

especially  David — made  him  spin  a  yarn.  With  this  and 
his  good  looks  he  so  pleased  Mrs.  Bazalgette  that  it  was  the 
last  yarn  he  ever  span  during  her  stay.  She  took  a  fancy 
to  him,  and  set  herself  to  captivate  him  with  sprightly  ardor. 

David  received  her  advances  politely,  but  a  little  coldly. 
The  lady  was  very  agreeable,  but  she  kept  him  from  Lucy : 
he  hardly  got  three  words  with  her  all  the  evening.  As  they 
went  home  together,  Eve  sneered :  "  Well,  you  managed 
nicely ;  it  was  your  business  to  make  friends  with  that  lady." 

«  With  all  my  heart." 

"  Then  why  didn't  you  do  what  she  bid  you  ?" 

"  She  gave  me  no  orders  that  I  heard,"  said  the  literal 
first  mate. 

"  She  gave  you  a  plain  hint,  though." 

"To  do  what  1" 

"  To  do  what,  stupid  1  why,  to  make  love  to  her,  to  be 
sure." 

"  Why,  she  is  a  married  woman." 

"  If  she  chooses  to  forget  that,  is  it  your  business  to  re- 
member it?" 

"  And  if  she  was  single,  and  the  loveliest  in  the  world, 
how  could  I  court  her  when  my  heart  is  full  of  an  angel." 

"  If  your  heart  is  full,  your  head  is  empty.  Why,  you 
see  nothing." 

"I  can't  see  why  I  should  belie  my  heart." 

"  Can't  you  ?  Then  I  can.  David,  in  less  than  a  month 
Miss  Fountain  goes  to  this  lady  and  stays  a  quarter  of  a 
year :  she  told  me  so  herself.  Oh,  my  ears  are  always  open 
in  your  service  ever  since  I  did  agree  to  be  as  great  a  fool 
as  you  are.  Now  don't  you  see  that  if  you  can't  get  Mrs. 
Bazalgette  to  invite  you  to  her  house,  you  must  take  leave 
of  the  other  here  forever?" 

"I  see  what  you  mean,  Eve;  how  wise  you  are.  It  is 
wonderful.  But  what  is  to  be  done  ?  I  am  bad  at  feign- 
ing. I  can't  make  love  to  her." 

"  But  you  can  let  her  make  love  to  you  :  is  that  an  effort 
you  feel  equal  to  1  and  I  must  do  the  rest.  Oh,  we  have  a 


124  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,    LOVE   ME   LONG. 

nice  undertaking  before  us.  But,  if  boys  will  cry  for  fruit 
that  is  out  of  their  reach,  and  their  silly  sisters  will  indulge 
them — don't  slobber  me" 

"  You  are  such  a  dear  girl  to  fight  for  me  so  a  little 
against  your  judgment." 

"A  little,  eh?  Dead  against  it,  you  mean.  Don't  look 
so  blank,  David ;  you  are  all  right  as  far  as  me.  When 
my  heart  is  on  your  side,  you  can  snap  your  fingers  at  my 
judgment." 

David  was  cheered  by  this  gracious  revelation. 

Eve  was  a  tormenting  little  imp.  She  could  not  help  re- 
minding him  every  now  and  then  that  all  her  manoeuvres 
and  all  his  love  were  to  end  in  disappointment. 

These  discouraging  comments  had  dashed  poor  David's 
spirits  more  than  once ;  but  he  was  beginning  to  discover 
that  they  were  invariably  accompanied  or  followed  by  an 
access  of  cheerful  zeal  in  the  desperate  cause — a  pleasing 
phenomenon,  though  somewhat  unintelligible  to  this  honest 
fellow,  who  had  never  microscoped  the  enigmatical  sex. 

Mrs. Bazalgette  reproached  Lucy:  "You  never  told  me 
how  handsome  Mr.  Dodd  was." 

"Didn't  I !" 

"  No.     He  is  the  handsomest  man  I  ever  saw." 

"  I  have  not  observed  that,  but  I  think  he  is  one  of  the 
worthiest." 

"I  should  not  wonder,"  said  the  other  lady,  carelessly. 
"  It  is  clear  you  don't  appreciate. him  here.  You  half  apol- 
ogized to  me  for  inviting  him." 

"  That  was  because  you  are  such  a  fashionable  lady,  and 
the  Dodds  have  no  such  pretensions." 

"All  the  better ;  my  taste  is  not  for  sophisticated  people : 
I  only  put  up  with  them  because  I  am  obliged.  "Why,  Lucy, 
you  ought  to  know  how  my  heart  yearns  for  nature  and 
truth ;  I  am  sure  I  have  told  you  so  often  enough.  An 
hour  spent  with  a  simple,  natural  creature  like  Captain 
Dodd,  refreshes  me  as  a  cooling  breeze  after  the  heat  and 
odors  of  a  crowded  room." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         125 

"  Miss  Dodd  is  very  natural  too — is  she  not  ?" 

"  Very.  Pertness  and  vulgarity  are  natural  enough — to 
some  people." 

"  My  uncle  likes  her  the  best  of  the  two." 

"  Then  your  uncle  is  mad.  But  the  fact  is,  men  are  no 
judges  in  such  cases ;  they  are  always  unjust  to  their  own 
sex,  and  as  blind  to  the  faults  of  ours  as  beetles." 

"  But  surely,  aunt,  she  is  very  arch  and  lively." 

"  Pert  and  fussy,  you  mean." 

"  Pretty,  at  all  events "?     Bather  f 

"  What,  with  that  snub  nose  ! !  ?" 

Lucy  offered  to  invite  other  neighbors :  Mrs.  Bazalgette 
replied  she  didn't  want  to  be  bothered  with  rurality.  ''  You 
can  ask  Captain  Dodd  if  you  like ;  there  is  no  need  to  in- 
vite the  sister." 

"  Oh  yes,  I  must ;  my  uncle  likes  her  the  best." 

"  But  /  don't ;  and  I  am  only  here  for  a  day  or  two." 

"  Miss  Dodd  would  be  hurt.  It  would  be  unkind — dis- 
courteous." 

"  No,  no.  She  watches  him  all  the  time  like  a  little 
dragon." 

"  Apres  ?  We  have  no  sinister  designs  on  Mr.  Dodd,  have 
we  *?"  and  something  unusually  keen  flashed  upon  Aunt  Ba- 
zalgette out  of  the  tail  of  the  quiet  Lucy's  eye. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  looked  cross.  "  Nonsense,  Lucy ;  so  tire- 
some! Can't  we  have  an  agreeable  person  without  tacking 
on  a  disagreeable  one  *?" 

"Aunt,"  said  Lucy,  pathetically,  "ask  me  any  thing  else 
in  the  world,  but  don't  ask  me  to  be  rude,  for  /  can't." 

"  Well,  then,  you  are  bound  to  entertain  her,  since  she  is 
your  choice,  and  leave  me  mine." 

Lucy  acquiesced  softly. 

David,  tutored  by  his  sister,  now  tried  to  seem  interested 
in  her  who  came  between  him  and  Lucy,  and  a  miserable 
hand  he  made  of  this  his  first  piece  of  acting.  Luckily  for 
him,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  liked  the  sound  of  her  own  voice,  and 
his  good  looks,  too,  went  a  long  way  with  the  mature  wo- 


126         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

man.  Lucy  and  Eve  sat  together  at  the  tea-table — Mr. 
Fountain  slumbered  below — Arthur  was  in  the  study,  nailed 
to  a  novel — Eve,  under  a  careless  exterior,  watched  intently 
to  find  out  if  Lucy,  under  a  calm  surface,  cared  for  David 
at  all  or  not,  and  also  watched  for  a  chance  to  serve  him. 
She  observed  a  certain  languor  about  the  young  lady,  but 
no  attempt  to  take  David  from  the  coquette.  At  last, 
however,  Lucy  did  say  demurely,  "  Mr.  Dodd  seems  to  ap- 
preciate my  aunt." 

"  Don't  you  think  it  is  rather  the  other  way  ?" 

"  That  is  an  insidious  question,  Miss  Dodd.  I  shall  make 
no  admissions ;  but  I  warn  you  she  is  a  very  fascinating 
woman." 

"  My  brother  is  greatly  admired  by  the  ladies  too." 

"  Oh,  since  I  praised  my  champion,  you  have  a  right  to 
praise  yours.  But  he  will  get  the  worst  in  that  little  en- 
counter." 

"Why  sol" 

"  Because  my  sprightly  aunt  forgets  the  very  names  of 
her  conquests  when  once  she  has  thoroughly  made  them." 

"  She  will  never  make  this  one :  my  brother  carries  an 
armor  against  coquettes." 

"  Ay,  indeed ;  and  pray  what  may  that  be  ?"  inquired 
Lucy,  a  little  quizzingly. 

"  A  true  and  deep  attachment." 

"Ah!" 

"  And  if  you  look  at  him  a  little  closer,  you  will  see  that 
he  would  be  glad  to  get  away  from  that  old  flirt ;  but  Da- 
vid is  very  polite  to  ladies." 

Lucy  stole  a  look  from  under  her  silken  lashes,  and  it  so 
happened  that  at  that  very  moment  she  encountered  a  sor- 
rowful glance  from  David,  that  said  plainly  enough,  I  am 
obliged  to  be  here,  but  I  long  to  be  there.  She  received 
this  glance  full  in  her  eyes,  absorbed  it  blandly,  then  low- 
ered her  lashes  a  moment,  then  turned  her  head  with  a 
sweet  smile  toward  Eve.  "  I  think  you  said  your  brother 
was  engaged." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  127 

"No." 

"  I  misunderstood  you  then." 

"Yes."  Eve  uttered  this  monosyllable  so  dryly  that 
Lucy  drew  back,  and  immediately  turned  the  conversation 
into  chit-chat. 

It  had  not  trickled  above  ten  minutes  when  an  exclama- 
tion from  David  interrupted  it.  The  young  ladies  turned 
instinctively,  and  there  was  David  flushing  all  over,  and 
speaking  to  Mrs.  Bazalgette  with  a  tremulous  warmth,  that, 
addressed  as  it  was  to  a  pretty  woman,  sounded  marvelously 
like  love-making. 

Lucy  turned  her  crest  round  a  little  haughtily  and  shot 
such  a  glance  on  Eve.  Eve  read  in  it  a  compound  of  tri- 
umph and  pique. 

David  came  to  Eve  one  morning  with  parchments  in  his 
hand  and  a  merry  smile.  "  Eureka  1" 

"  You're  another,"  said  Eve,  as  quick  as  lightning,  and 
upon  speculation. 

"  I  have  made  Mr.  Fountain's  pedigree  out,"  explained 
David. 

"  You  don't  say  so !  won't  he  be  pleased !" 

"Yes.     Do  you  think  she  will  be  pleased1?" 

"Why  not?  She  will  look  pleased,  any  way.  I  say, 
don't  you  go  and  tell  them  the  whole  county  was  owned  by 
the  Dodds  before  Fountain,  or  Funteyn,  or  Font  was 
ever  heard  of." 

"  Hardly.  I  have  my  own  weaknesses,  my  lass ;  I've  no 
need  to  adopt  another  man's." 

"  Bless  my  soul,  how  wise  you  are  got !  So  sudden,  too ! 
You  shouldn't  surprise  a  body  like  that.  Lucky  I'm  not 
hysterical.  Now  let  me  think,  David — Solomon,  I  mean — 
no,  you  shall  keep  this  discovery  back  a  while ;  it  may  be 
wanted."  She  then  reminded  him  that  the  Fountains  were 
capricious;  that  they  had  dropped  him  for  a  week,  and 
might  again  ;  if  so,  this  might  be  useful  to  unlock  their 
street  door  to  him  at  need. 


128  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  Good  heavens,  Eve,  what  cunning!" 

"David,  when  I  have  a  bad  cause  in  hand,  I  do  one  of 
two  things :  I  drop  it,  or  I  go  into  it  heart  and  soul.  If 
my  zeal  offends  you,  I  can  retire  from  the  contest  with  great 
pleasure." 

"No!  no!  no!  no!  no!  If  you  leave  the  helm  I  shall 
go  ashore  directly" — dismay  of  David ;  grim  satisfaction  of 
his  imp. 

This  matter  settled,  David  asked  Eve  if  she  did  not  think 
Master  Nelson  (Mr.  Fountain's  new  ward)  was  a  very  nice 
boy. 

"  Yes ;  and  I  see  he  has  taken  a  wonderful  fancy  to  you." 

"  And  so  have  I  to  him :  we  have  had  one  or  two  walks 
together.  He  is  to  come  here  at  twelve  o'clock  to-day." 

"Now  why  couldn't  you  have  asked  me  first,  David? 
The  painters  are  coming  into  the  house  to-day,  and  the  pa- 
perers,  and  all,  and  we  can't  be  bothered  with  mathematics. 
You  must  do  them  at  Font  Abbey."  Eve  was  a  little 
cross.  David  only  laughed  at  her ;  but  he  hesitated  about 
making  a  school-house  of  Font  Abbey — it  would  look  like 
intruding. 

"Pooh!  nonsense,"  said  Eve;  "they  will  only  be  too 
glad  to  take  advantage  of  your  good-nature." 

"  He  is  an  orphan,"  said  David,  doggedly. 

However,  the  lesson  was  given  at  Font  Abbey,  and  after 
it  Master  Nelson  came  bounding  into  the  drawing-room  to 
the  ladies. 

"  Oh,  Lucy,  Mr.  Dodd  is  such  a  beautiful  geometrician  ! 
He  has  been  giving  me  a  lesson ;  he  is  going  to  give  me  oner 
every  day.  He  knows  a  great  deal  more  than  my  last  tu- 
tor." On  this  Master  Nelson  was  questioned,  and  revealed 
that  a  friendship  existed  between  him  and  Mr.  Dodd  such 
as  girls  are  incapable  of  (this  was  leveled  at  Lucy) ;  being 
cross-examined  as  to  the  date  of  this  friendship,  he  was 
obliged  to  confess  that  it  had  only  existed  four  days,  but 
was  to  last  to  death. 

"But,  Arthur,"  said  Lucy,  "will  not  this  take  up  too 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         129 

much  of  Mr.  Dodd's  time?  I  think  you  had  better  consult 
Uncle  Fountain  before  you  make  a  positive  arrangement  of 
the  kind." 

"  Oh,  I  have  spoken  to  my  guardian  about  it,  and  he  was 
so  pleased.  He  said  that  would  save  him  a  mathematical 
tutor." 

"  Oh,  then,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  "  Mr.  Dodd  is  to  teach 
mathematics  gratis." 

"  My  friend  is  a  gentleman,"  was  the  tumid  reply.  (Ju- 
veniles have  a  pomposity  all  their  own,  and  exquisitely  de- 
licious.*) "  We  read  together  because  we  like  one  another, 
and  that  is  why  we  walk  together  and  play  together;  if  we 
were  to  offer  him  money  he  would  throw  it  at  our  heads-" 
Mr.  Arthur  then  relaxed  his  severity,  and,  condescending 
once  more  to  the  familiar,  added,  "  And  he  has  made  me  a 
kite  on  mathematical  principles — such  a  whacker — those  in 
the  shops  are  no  use ;  and  he  has  sent  his  mother's  Bath 
chair  on  to  the  downs,  and  he  is  going  to  show  me  the  kite 
draw  him  ten  knots  an  hour  in  it — a  knot  means  a  mile, 
Lucy — so  I  can't  stay  wasting  my  time  here  ;  only,  if  you 
want  to  see  some  fun  for  once  in  your  lives,  come  on  the 
downs  in  about  an  hour — will  you?  Oh  yes!  do  come!" 

"  Certainly  not,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  sharply. 

"  Excuse  us,  dear,"  said  Lucy,  in  the  same  breath. 

"  "Well,  Lucy,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  "  am  I  wrong  about 
your  uncle's  selfishness  1  I  have  tried  in  vain  ever  since  I 
came  here  to  make  you  see  it  where  you  were  the  only  suf- 
ferer." 

"Not  quite  in  vain,  aunt,"  said  Lucy,  sadly ;  "you  have 
shown  me  defects  in  my  poor  uncle  that  I  should  never  have 
discovered." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  smiled  grimly. 

"  Only,  as  you  hate  him,  and  I  love  him,  and  always 
mean  to  love  him,  permit  me  to  call  his  defects  '  thought- 
less-ness.'    You  can  apply  the  harsh  term  '  selfish-ness'  to 
the  most  good-natured,  kind,  indulgent — oh !" 
*  Read  the  Oxford  Essays. 
F  2 


130         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"Ha!  ha!  Don't  cry,  you  silly  girl.  Thoughtless?  a 
calculating  old  goose,  who  is  eternally  aiming  to  be  a  fox — 
never  says  or  does  any  thing  without  meaning  something  a 
mile  off.  Luckily,  his  veil  is  so  thin  that  every  body  sees 
through  it  but  you.  What  do  you  think  of  his  thought-less- 
ness  in  getting  a  tutor  gratis  ?  Poor  Mr.  Dodd !" 

"  I  will  answer  for  it  it  is  a  pleasure  to  Mr.  Dodd  to  be 
of  service  to  his  little  friend,"  said  Lucy,  warmly. 

"  How  do  you  know  a  bore  is  a  pleasure  to  Mr.  Dodd?" 

"  Mr.  Dodd  is  a  new  acquaintance  of  yours,  aunt,  but  I 
have  had  opportunities  of  observing  his  character,  and  I  as- 
sure you  all  this  pity  is  wasted." 

"  Why,  Lucy,  what  did  you  say  to  Arthur  just  now. 
You  are  contradicting  yourself" 

"  What  a  love  of  opposition  I  must  have.  Are  you  not 
tired  of  in-doors?  Shall  we  go  into  the  village?" 

"  No ;  I  exhausted  the  village  yesterday." 

"  The  garden  ?" 

"No." 

"Well,  then,  suppose  we  sketch  the  church  together. 
There  is  a  good  light." 

"  No.     Let  us  go  on  the  downs,  Lucy." 

"  Why,  aunt,  it — it  is  a  long  walk." 

"All  the  better." 

"But  we  said  'No.'" 

"What  has  that  to  do  with  it?" 

Arthur  was  right:  the  kites  that  are  sold  by  shops  of 
prey  are  not  proportioned  nor  balanced :  this  is  probably  in 
some  way  connected  with  the  circumstance  that  they  are 
made  to  sell,  not  fly.  The  monster  kite  constructed  by  the 
light  of  Euclid  rose  steadily  into  the  air  like  a  balloon,  and 
eventually,  being  attached  to  the  chair,  drew  Mr.  Arthur  at 
a  reasonable  pace  about  half  a  mile  over  a  narrow  but  level 
piece  of  turf  that  was  on  the  top  of  the  downs.  Q.E.D. 
This  clone,  these  two  patient  creatures  had  to  wind  the 
struggling  monster  in,  and  go  back  again  to  the  starting- 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  131 

point.  Before  they  had  quite  achieved  this,  two  petticoats 
mounted  the  hill  and  moved  toward  them  across  the  pla- 
teau. At  sight  of  them  David  thrilled  from  head  to  foot, 
and  Arthur  cried,  "  Oh,  bother !"  an  unjust  ejaculation,  since 
it  was  by  his  invitation  they  came.  His  alarms  were  veri- 
fied. The  ladies  made  themselves  No.  1  directly,  and  the 
poor  kite  became  a  shield  for  flirtation.  Arthur  was  so 
cross. 

At  last  the  B.'s  desire  to  occupy  attention  brought  her  to 
the  verge  of  trouble.  Seeing  David  saying  a  word  to  Lucy, 
she  got  into  the  chair,  and  went  gayly  off,  drawn  by  the 
kite,  which  Arthur,  with  a  mighty  struggle,  succeeded  in 
hooking  to  the  car  for  her.  Now  the  plateau  was  narrow, 
and  the  chair  wanted  guiding :  it  was  easy  to  guide  it,  but 
Mrs.  Bazalgette  did  not  know  how ;  so  it  sidled  in  a  perti- 
nacious and  horrid  way  toward  a  long  and  steepish  slope  on 
the  left  side.  She  began  to  scream,  Arthur  to  laugh — the 
young  are  cruel :  and,  I  am  afraid,  though  he  stood  perfect- 
ly neutral  to  all  appearance,  his  heart  within  nourished  black 
designs.  But  David  came  flying  up  at  her  screams — just  in 
time.  He  caught  the  lady's  shoulders  as  she  glided  over 
the  brow  of  the  slope,  and  lifted  her  by  his  great  strength 
up  out  of  the  chair,  which  went  the  next  moment  bounding 
and  jumping  athwart  the  hill,  and  soon  rolled  over  and 
groveled  in  rather  an  ugly  way. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  sobbed  and  cried  so  prettily  on  David's 
shoulder,  and  had  to  be  petted  and  soothed  by  all  hands. 
Inward  composure  soon  returned,  though  not  outward,  and 
in  due  course  histrionics  commenced.  First  the  sprain  busi- 
ness :  none  of  you  do  it  better,  ladies,  whatever  you  may 
think.  David  had  to  carry  her  a  bit.  But  she  was  too 
wise  to  be  a  bore.  Next  the  heroic  business :  would  be  put 
down,  would  walk,  possible  or  not,  would  not  be  a  trouble  to 
her  kind  friends.  Then  the  martyr  smiling  through  pain. 
David  was  very  attentive  to  her;  for  while  he  was  carry- 
ing her  in  his  arms  she  had  won  his  affection,  all  he  could 


132  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

spare  from  Lucy.  Which  of  you  can  tell  all  the  conse- 
quences if  you  go  and  carry  a  pretty  woman,  with  her  little 
insinuating  mouth  close  to  your  ears  ? 

Lucy  and  Arthur  walked  behind.  Arthur  sighed.  Lucy 
was  reveuse.  Arthur  broke  silence  first.  "  Lucy  !'* 

"Yes,  dear." 

"  When  is  she  going  ?'* 

"  Arthur,  for  shame !     I  won't  tell  you.     To-morrow." 

"  Lucy,"  said  Arthur,  with  a  depth  of  feeling,  "  she  spoils 
every  thing !  !  !" 

Next  morning come  back  ?  What  for  ?  /  tvill 

have  the  goodness  to  tell  you  what  she  said  in  his  ear  ?  Why, 
nothing. 

You  are  a  female  reader  ?  Oh !  that  alters  the  case  :  to 
attempt  to  deceive  you  would  be  cowardly,  immoral ;  it 
would  fail.  She  sighed  "my  preserver!"  at  which  David 
had  much  ado  not  to  laugh  in  her  face.  Then  she  mur- 
mured still  more  softly,  "  You  must  come  and  see  me  at  my 
home  before  you  sail — will  you  not?  I  insist" — (in  the 
tone  of  a  supplicant),  "come,  promise  me." 

"That  I  will — with  pleasure,"  said  David,  flushing. 

"  Mind,  it  is  a  promise.  Put  me  down.  Lucy,  come 
here  and  make  him  put  mo  down.  I  will  not  be  a  burden 
to  my  friends." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THAT  same  evening,  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  being  alone  with 
Lucy  in  the  drawing-room,  put  her  arm  round  that  young 
lady's  waist,  and  lovingly,  not  seriously,  as  a  man  might 
have  been  apt  to  do,  reminded  her  of  her  honorable  promise 
— not  to  be  caught  in  the  net  of  matrimony  at  Font  Abbey. 
Lucy  answered,  without  embarrassment,  that  she  claimed 
no  merit  for  keeping  her  word :  no  one  had  had  the  ill  tasto 
to  invite  her  to  break  it. 


LOVE    ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  133 

"You  are  either  very  sly  or  very  blind,"  replied  Mrs. 
Bazalgette,  quietly. 

"  Aunt !"  said  Lucy,  piteously. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette,  who,  by  many  a  subtle  question  and 
observation  during  the  last  week,  had  satisfied  herself  of 
Lucy's  innocence,  now  set  to  work  and  laid  Uncle  Fountain 
bare. 

"  I  do  not  speak  in  a  hurry,  Lucy ;  a  hint  came  round  to 
me  a  fortnight  ago  that  you  had  an  admirer  here,  and  it 
turns  out  to  be  this  Mr.  Talboys." 

"Mr.  Talboys  ?" 

"  Yes.  Does  that  surprise  you  ?  Do  you  think  a  young 
gentleman  would  come  to  Font  Abbey  three  nights  in  a 
week  without  a  motive  1" 

Lucy  reflected. 

"  It  is  all  over  the  place  that  you  two  are  engaged." 

Lucy  colored,  and  her  eyes  flashed  with  something  very 
like  anger,  but  she  held  her  peace. 

"Ask  Jane  else." 

"  What !  take  my  servant  into  my  confidence  f 

"  Oh,  there  is  a  way  of  setting  that  sort  of  people  chat- 
tering without  seeming  to  take  any  notice.  To  tell  the 
truth,  I  have  done  it  for  you.  It  is  all  over  the  village,  and 
all  over  the  house." 

"  The  proper  person  to  ask  must  have  been  Uncle  Fount- 
ain himself." 

"  As  if  he  would  have  told  me  the  truth." 

"  He  is  a  gentleman,  aunt,  and  would  not  have  uttered  a 
falsehood." 

"  Doctrine  of  chivalry !  He  would  have  uttered  half  a 
dozen  in  one  minute.  Besides,  why  should  I  question  a 
person  I  can  read  without.  Your  uncle,  with  his  babyish 
cunning  that  every  body  sees  through,  has  given  me  the  only 
proof  I  wanted.  He  has  not  had  Mr.  Talboys  here  once 
since  I  came." 

"  Cunning  little  aunt !  Mr.  Talboys  happens  not  to  be 
at  home ;  uncle  told  me  so  himself." 


134  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

"Simple  little  niece,  uncle  told  you  a  fib;  Mr.  Talboyg 
is  at  home.  And  observe !  until  I  came  to  Font  Abbey,  he 
was  here  three  times  a  week.  You  admit  that.  I  come ; 
your  uncle  knows  I  am  not  so  unobservant  as  you,  and  Mr. 
Tatboys  is  kept  out  of  sight." 

"  The  proof  that  my  uncle  has  deceived  me,"  said  Lucy, 
coldly,  and  with  lofty  incredulity. 

"  Read  that  note  from  Miss  Dodd !" 

"  What !  you  in  correspondence  with  Miss  Dodd  ?" 

"  That  is  to  say,  she  has  thrust  herself  into  correspondence 
with  me — -just  like  her  assurance." 

The  letter  ran  thus : 

"  DEAR  MADAM, — My  brother  requests  me  to  say  that, 
in  compliance  with  your  request,  he  called  at  the  lodge  of 
Talboys  Park,  and  the  people  informed  him  Mr.  Talboys 
had  not  left  Talboys  Park  at  all  since  Easter.  I  remain 
yours,  etc." 

Lucy  was  dumbfoundered. 

"  I  suspected  something,  Lucy,  so  I  asked  Mr.  Dodd  to 
inquire." 

"  Jt  was  a  singular  commission  to  send  him  on." 

"Oh,  he  takes  long  walks — cruises  he  calls  them — and 
he  is  so  good-natured.  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  your 
uncle's  veracity  now?" 

Lucy  was  troubled  and  distressed,  but  she  mastered  her 
countenance :  "  I  think  he  has  sacrificed  it  for  once  to  his 
affection  for  me.  I  fear  you  are  right ;  my  eyes  are  opened 
to  many  circumstances.  But  do— oh  pray  do  ! — see  his 
goodness  in  all  this." 

"  The  goodness  of  a  story-teller." 

"  He  admires  Mr.  Talboys — he  reveres  him.  No  doubt 
he  wished  to  secure  his  poor  niece  what  he  thinks  a  great 
match,  and  now  you  assign  ill  motives  to  him.  Yes,  I  con- 
fess he  has  deviated  from  truth.  Cruel !  cruel !  what  can 
you  give  me  in  exchange  if  you  rob  me  of  my  esteem  for 
those  I  love!" 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         135 

This  innocent  distress,  with  its  cause,  were  too  deep  for  a 
lady  whose  bright  little  intelligence  leaned  toward  cunning 
rather  than  wisdom.  In  spite  of  her  niece's  trouble,  and 
the  brimming  eyes  that  implored  forbearance,  she  drove  the 
sting  merrily  in  again  and  again,  till  at  last  Lucy,  who  was 
not  defending  herself,  but  an  absent  friend,  turned  a  little 
suddenly  on  her  and  said, 

"And  do  you  think  he  says  nothing  against  you  f 

"  Oh !  he  is  a  backbiter  too,  is  he  ?  I  didn't  know  he 
had  that  vice.  Ah!  and,  pray,  what  can  he  find  to  say 
against  me  ?" 

"  Oh !  people  that  hate  one  another  can  always  find  some- 
thing ill-natured  to  say,"  retorted  Lucy,  with  a  world  of 
meaning. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  turned  red,  and  her  little  nose  went  up 
into  the  air  at  an  angle  of  forty-five.  She  said,  with  ma- 
jestic disdain,  "  I  don't  hate  the  man — I  don't  condescend 
to  hate  him." 

"  Then  don't  condescend  to  backbite  him,  dear." 

This  home-thrust,  coming  from  such  a  quarter,  took  away 
my  Lady  Disdain's  very  breath.  She  sat  transfixed  ;  then, 
upon  reflection,  got  up  a  tear,  and  had  to  be  petted. 

This  sweet  lady  departed,  flinging  down  her  firebrand  on 
those  hospitable  boards. 

Lucy,  though  she  had  defended  her  uncle,  was  not  a  lit- 
tle vexed  that  he  had  managed  matters  so  as  to  get  her  talked 
of  with  Mr.  Talboys.  Her  natural  modesty  and  reserve  pre- 
vented her  from  remonstrating  ;  nor  was  there  any  positive 
necessity.  She  was  one  of  those  young  ladies  who  seem 
born  mistresses  of  the  art  of  self-defense.  Deriving  the  art 
not  from  experience,  but  from  instinct,  they  are  as  adroit  at 
seventeen  as  they  are  at  twenty-seven  ;  so  a  last  year's  bird 
constructs  her  first  nest  as  cunningly  as  can  a  veteran  feath- 
ered architect. 

Therefore,  without  a  grain  of  discourtesy  or  tangible  ill- 
temper,  she  quietly  froze,  and  a  small  family  with  her,  they 
could  not  tell  how  or  why,  for  they  had  never  even  suspect- 


186  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

ed  this  girl's  power.  You  would  have  seemed  to  them  as 
one  that  inocketh  had  you  told  them  they  owed  their  gaye- 
ty,  their  good-humor,  their  happiness,  and  their  conversa- 
tional powers  to  her. 

Of  these  Talboys  suffered  the  most.  She  brought  him  to 
a  stand-still  by  a  very  simple  process.  She  no  longer  pat- 
ted or  spurred  him.  To  vary  the  metaphor,  a  man  that  has 
no  current  must  be  stirred  or  stagnate;  Lucy's  light  hand 
stirred  Talboys  no  more ;  Talboys  stagnated.  Mr.  Fount- 
ain suffered  next  in  proportion.  He  began  to  find  that 
something  was  the  matter,  but  what  he  had  no  idea.  He 
did  not  observe  that,  though  Lucy  answered  him  as  kindly 
as  ever,  she  did  not  draw  him  out  as  heretofore,  far  less  that 
she  was  vexed  with  him,  and  on  her  guard  against  him  and 
every  body,  like  a  maitre&se  cTarmes.  No.  "  The  days  were 
drawing  in.  The  air  was  heavy ;  no  carbon  in  it.  Wind 
in  the  east  again ! ! !"  etc.  So  subtle  is  the  influence  of 
these  silly  little  creatures  upon  creation's  lords. 

Mr.  Talboys  did  not  take  delicate  hints.  He  continued 
his  visits  three  times  a  week,  and  the  coast  was  kept  clear 
for  him.  On  this  Miss  Fountain  proceeded  to  overt  acts  of 
Avar.  She  brought  a  champion  on  the  scene— a  terrible 
champion — a  champion  so  irresistible  that  I  set  any  woman 
down  as  a  coward  who  lets  him  loose  upon  a  sex  already  so 
unequal  to  the  contest  as  ours.  What  that  champion's  real 
name  is  I  have  in  vain  endeavored  to  discover,  but  he  is 
called  "  Headache."  When  this  terrible  ally  mingled  in  the 
game — on  the  Talboys  nights — dismay  fell  upon  the  wretch- 
ed males  that  abode  in  and  visited  the  once  cheerful,  cosy 
Font  Abbey.  Messrs.  Fountain  and  Talboys  put  their  heads 
together  in  grave,  anxious  consultations,  and  Arthur  vented 
a  yell  of  remonstrance.  He  found  the  lady  one  afternoon 
preparing  indisposition.  She  was  leaning  languidly  back, 
and  the  fire  was  dying  out  of  her  eye,  and  the  color  out  of 
her  cheek,  and  the  blinds  were  drawn  down.  The  poor  boy 
burst  in  upon  this  prologue.  "  Oh,  Lucy,"  he  cried,  in  pit- 
eous, foreboding  tones,  "  don't  go  and  have  a  headache  to- 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         137 

night.  It  was  so  jolly  till  you  took  to  these  stupid  head- 
aches." 

"  I  am  so  sorry,  Arthur,"  said  Lucy,  apologetically,  but 
at  bottom  she  was  inexorable.  The  disease  reached  its  cli- 
max just  before  dinner.  All  remedies  failed,  and  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  return  to  her  own  room,  and  read  the 
last  new  tale  of  domestic  interest — and  principle — till  sleep 
came  to  her  relief. 

After  dinner  Arthur  shot  out  with  the  retiring  servants, 
and  interred  himself  in  the  study,  where  he  sought  out  with 
care  such  wild  romances  as  give  entirely  false  views  of  life, 
and  found  them,  "  and  so  shut  up  in  measureless  content." 
— Macbeth. 

The  seniors  consulted  at  their  ease.  They  both  appreci- 
ated the  painful  phenomenon,  but  they  differed  toto  ccelo  as 
to  the  cause.  Mr.  Fountain  ascribed  it  to  the  sombre  in- 
fluence of  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  and  miscalled  her  till  Jane's  hair 
stood  on  end :  she  happened  to  be  the  one  at  the  keyhole 
that  night.  Mr.  Talboys  laid  all  the  blame  on  David  Dodd. 
The  discussion  was  vigorous,  and  occupied  more  than  two 
hours,  and  each  party  brought  forward  good  and  plausible 
reasons ;  and,  if  neither  made  any  progress  toward  convert- 
ing the  other,  they  gained  this  at  least,  that  each  corrobo- 
rated himself.  Now  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  gone,  no  direct 
reprisals  on  her  were  possible.  Registering  a  vow  that  one 
day  or  other  he  would  be  even  with  her,  the  senior  consent- 
ed, though  not  very  willingly,  to  co-operate  with  his  friend 
against  an  imaginary  danger.  In  answer  to  his  remark  that 
the  Dodds  were  never  invited  to  tea  now,  Mr.  Talboys  had 
replied,  "  But  I  find  from  Mr.  Arthur  he  visits  the  house 
every  day  on  the  pretense  of  teaching  him  mathematics — a 
barefaced  pretense — a  sailor  teach  mathematics!"  Mr. 
Fountain  had  much  ado  to  keep  his  temper  at  this  perti- 
nacity in  a  jealous  dream.  He  gulped  his  ire  down,  howev- 
er, and  said,  somewhat  sullenly,  "  I  really  can  not  consent 
to  send  my  poor  friend's  son  to  the  University  a  dunce,  and 
there  is  no  other  mathematician  near." 


138  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LOXG. 

"  If  I  find  you  one,"  said  Talboys,  hastily,  "  will  you  re- 
lieve Mr.  Dodd  of  his  labors,  and  me  of  his  presence  ?" 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  other.     Poor  David  ! 

"  Then  there  is  my  friend  Bramby  :  he  is  a  second  wran- 
gler: he  shall  take  Arthur,  and  keep  him  till  Miss  Fountain 
leaves  us.  Bramby  will  refuse  me  nothing.  I  have  a  liv- 
ing in  my  gift,  and  the  incumbent  is  eighty-eight." 

The  senior  consented  with  a  pitying  smile. 

"  Bramby  will  take  him  next  week,"  said  Talboys,  se- 
verely. 

Mr.  Fountain  nodded  his  head.  It  was  all  the  assent  he 
could  effect ;  and  at  that  moment  there  passed  through  him 
the  sacrilegious  thought  that  the  Conqueror  must  have  im- 
ported an  ass  or  two  among  his  other  forces,  and  that  one 
of  these,  intermarrying  with  Saxon  blood,  had  produced  a 
mule,  and  that  mule  was  his  friend. 

The  same  uneasy  jealousy,  which  next  week  was  to  expel 
David  from  Font  Abbey,  impelled  Mr.  Talboys  to  call  the 
very  next  day  at  one  o'clock  to  see  what  was  being  done 
under  cover  of  trigonometry.  He  found  Mr.  and  Miss 
Fountain  just  sitting  down  to  luncheon.  David  and  Ar- 
thur were  actually  together  somewhere,  perhaps  going 
through  the  farce  of  geometry.  He  was  half  vexed  at  find- 
ing no  food  for  his  suspicions.  Presently,  so  spiteful  is 
chance,  the  door  opened,  and  in  marched  Arthur  and  David. 

"  I  have  made  him  stay  to  luncheon  for  once,"  said  Ar- 
thur; "he  couldn't  refuse  jne;  we  are  to  part  so  soon." 
Arthur  got  next  to  Lucy,  and  had  David  on  his  left.  Mr. 
Talboys  gave  Mr.  Fountain  a  look,  and  very  soon  began  to 
play  his  battery  upon  David. 

"  How  do  you  naval  officers  find  time  to  learn  geometry?" 

"  What !  don't  you  know  it  is  a  part  of  our  education,  sir?" 

"I  never  heard  that  before." 

"  That  is  odd ;  but  perhaps  you  have  spent  all  your  life 
ashore"  (this  in  commiserating  accents).  David  then  po- 
litely explained  to  Mr.  Talboys  that  a  man  who  looked  one 
day  to  command  a  ship  must  not  only  practice  seamanship, 


LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.  139 

but  learn  navigation,  and  that  navigation  was  a  noble  art 
founded  on  the  exact  sciences  as  well  as  on  practical  expe- 
riences ;  that  there  did  still  linger  upon  the  ocean  a  few  of 
the  old  captains,  who,  born  at  a  period  when  a  ship,  in 
making  a  voyage,  used  to  run  down  her  longitude  first,  and 
then  begin  to  make  her  latitude,  could  handle  a  ship  well, 
and  keep  her  off  a  lee  shore  if  they  saw  it  in  time,  but  were, 
in  truth,  hardly  to  be  trusted  to  take  her  from  port  to  port. 
"  We  get  a  word  with  these  old  salts  now  and  then  when 
we  are  becalmed  alongside,  and  the  questions  they  put  make 
us  quite  feel  for  them.  Then  they  trust  entirely  to  their 
instruments.  They  can  take  an  observation,  but  they  can't 
verify  one.  They  can  tack  her  and  wear  her  (I  have  seen 
them  do  one  when  they  should  have  done  the  other),  and 
they  can  read  the  sky  and  the  water  better  than  we  young 
ones ;  and  while  she  floats  they  stick  to  her,  and  the  greater 
the  danger  the  louder  the  oaths — but  that  is  all."  He  then 
assured  them  with  modest  fervor  that  much  more  than  that 
was  expected  of  the  modern  commander,  particularly  in  the 
two  capital  articles  of  exact  science  and  gentlemanly  behav- 
ior. He  concluded  with  considerable  grace  by  apologizing 
for  his  enthusiastic  view  of  a  profession  that  had  been  too 
often  confounded  with  the  faults  of  its  professors — faults 
that  were  curable,  and  that  they  would  all,  he  hoped,  live 
long  enough  to  see  cured.  Then  turning  to  Miss  Fountain, 
he  said,  "  And  if  I  began  by  despising  my  business,  and 
taking  a  small  view  of  it,  how  should  I  ever  hold  sticks 
with  my  able  competitors,  who  study  it  with  zeal  and  admi- 
ration ?" 

Lucy.  "  I  don't  quite  understand  all  you  have  said,  Mr. 
Dodd,  but  that  last  I  think  is  unanswerable." 

Fountain.  "I  am  sure  of  it.  As  the  Duke  of  Wellington 
said  the  other  day  in  the  House  of  Lords,  '  That  is  a  position 
I  defy  any  noble  lord  to  assault  with  success' — haw !  ho !" 

Mr.  Talboys  diverted  his  attack.  "  Pray,  sir,"  said  he, 
with  a  sneer,  "  may  I  ask,  have  nautical  commanders  a  par- 
ticular taste  for  education  as  well  as  science?" 


140         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"Not  that  I  know  of.  If  you  mean  me,  I  am  hungry  to 
learn,  and  I  find  few  but  what  can  teach  me  something,  and 
what  little  I  know  I  am  willing  to  impart,  sir:  give  and 
take." 

"It  is  the  direction  of  your  teaching  that  seems  to  me  so 
singular.  Mathematics  are  horrible  enough,  and  greatly  to 
be  avoided." 

"  That  is  news  to  me." 

"  On  ten-ajirma,  I  mean." 

At  this  opening  of  the  case  Talboys  versus  Newton,  Ar- 
thur shrugged  his  shoulders  to  Lucy  and  David,  and  went 
swiftly  out  as  from  the  presence  of  an  idiot.  It  was  abom- 
inably rude.  But,  besides  being  ill-natured  and  a  little 
shallow,  Mr.  Talboys  was  drawling  out  his  words,  and  Ar- 
thur was  sixteen — candid  epoch,  at  which  affectation  in 
man  or  woman  is  intolerable  to  us :  we  get  a  little  hardened 
to  it  long  before  sixty.  Mr.  Talboys  bit  his  lip  at  this  boy- 
ish impertinence,  but  he  was  too  proud  a  man  to  notice  it 
otherwise  than  by  quietly  incorporating  the  offender  into 
his  satire.  "  But  the  enigma  is  why  you  read  them  with  a 
stripling,  of  whose  breeding  we  have  just  had  a  specimen 
— mathematics  with  a  hobba-de-hoy  1  Grand  Dicu  !  Do 
pray  tell  us,  Mr.  Dodd,  why  you  come  to  Font  Abbey  every 
day ;  is  it  really  to  teach  Master  Orson  mathematics  and 
manners  *" 

David  did  not  sink  into  the  earth  as  he  was  intended  to. 

"  I  come  to  teach  him  algebra  and  geometry,  what  little 
I  know." 

"  But  your  motive,  Mr.  Dodd  ?" 

David  looked  puzzled,  Lucy  uneasy  at  seeing  her  guest 
badgered. 

"Ask  Miss  Fountain  why  she  thinks  I  do  my  best  for 
Arthur,"  said  David,  lowering  his  eyes. 

Talboys  colored  and  looked  at  Fountain. 

"I  think  it  must  be  out  of  pure  goodness,"  said  Lucy, 
sweetly. 

Mr.  Talboys  ignored  her  calmly.     "Pray  enlighten  us, 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          141 

Mr.  Dodd.  Now  what  is  the  real  reason  you  walk  a  mile 
every  day  to  do  mathematics  with  that  interesting  and  well- 
behaved  juvenile  ?" 

"  You  are  very  curious,  sir,"  said  David,  grimly,  his  ire 
rising  unseen. 

"I  am — on  this  point." 

"  Well,  since  you  must  be  told  what  most  men  could  see 
without  help,  it  is — because  he  is  an  orphan  ;  and  because 
an  orphan  finds  a  brother  in  every  man  that  is  worth  the 
shoe-leather  he  stands  in.  Can  ye  read  the  riddle  now,  ye 
lubber?"  and  David  started  up  haughtily,  and,  with  con- 
tempt and  wrath  on  his  face,  marched  through  the  open 
window  and  joined  his  little  friend  on  the  lawn,  leaving 
Fountain  red  with  anger  and  Talboys  white. 

The  next  thing  was,  Lucy  rose  and  went  quietly  out  of 
the  room  by  the  door. 

"  It  is  the  last  time  he  shall  set  his  foot  within  my  door. 
Provoking  cub !" 

"  You  are  convinced  at  last  that  he  is  a  dangerous  rival  f 

"  A  rival  ?  nonsense  and  stuff!  !" 

"Then  why  was  she  so  agitated?  She  went  out  with 
tears  in  her  eyes  :  I  saw  them." 

"  The  poor  girl  was  frightened,  no  doubt.  We  don't 
have  fracases  at  Font  Abbey.  On  this  one  spot  of  earth 
comfort  reigns,  and  balmy  peace,  and  shall  reign  unruffled 
while  I  live.  The  passions  are  not  admitted  here,  sir. 
Gracious  Heaven  forbid !  I'd  as  soon  see  a  bonfire  in  the 
middle  of  my  dining-room  as  Jealousy  and  Co." 

"  In  that  case  you  had  better  exclude  the  cause." 

"  The  cause  is  your  imagination,  my  good  friend ;  but  I 
will  give  it  no  handle.  I  will  exclude  David  Dodd  until 
she  has  accepted  you  in  form." 

With  this  understanding  the  friends  parted. 

After  dinner  that  same  day  Arthur  sat  in  the  drawing- 
room  with  Lucy.  He  was  reading,  she  working  placidly. 
She  looked  off  her  work  demurely  at  him  several  times. 


142        LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

He  was  absorbed  in  a  flighty  romance.  "I  have  dropped 
my  worsted,  Arthur.  It  is  by  you." 

Arthur  picked  the  ball  up  and  brought  it  to  her;  then 
back  to  his  romance,  heart  and  soul.  Another  sidelong 
glance  at  him  ;  then,  after  a  long  silence,  "Your  book  seems 
very  interesting." 

"  I'll  fling  it  against  the  wall  if  it  doesn't  mind,"  was  the 
infuriated  reply.  "  Here  are  two  fools  quarreling,  page  aft- 
er page,  and  can't  see,  or  won't  see,  what  every  body  else 
can  see,  that  it  is  an  absurd  misunderstanding.  One  word 
of  common  sense  would  put  it  all  right." 

"Then  why  not  put  the  book  down  and  talk  to  me?" 

"I  can't.  It  won't  let  me.  I  must  see  how  long  the 
two  fools  will  go  on  not  seeing  what  every  body  else  sees." 

"Will  not  the  number  of  volumes  tell  you  that?" 

"  Signorina,  don't  you  try  to  be  satirical !"  said  the 
sprightly  youth;  "you'll  only  make  a  mess  of  it.  What 
is  the  use  dropping  one  drop  of  vinegar  into  such  a  great 
big  honey-pot?" 

"  You  are  a  saucy  boy,"  retorted  Lucy,  in  tones  of  gentle 
approbation. 

A  long  silence. 

"  Arthur,  will  you  hold  this  skein  for  me  ?" 

Arthur  groaned. 

"  Never  mind,  dear.     I  will  try  and  manage  with  a  chair." 

"No  you  won't,  now;  there." 

The  victim  was  caught  by  the  hands.  But  with  fatal  in- 
stinctive perverseness  he  sat  in  silent  amazement  watching 
Lucy's  supple  white  hand  disentangling  impossibilities  in- 
stead of  chattering  as  he  was  intended  to.  Lucy  gave  a 
little  sigh.  Here  was  a  dreadful  business— obliged  to  elicit 
the  information  she  had  resolved  should  be  forced  upon  her. 

"  By-the-by,  Arthur,"  said  she,  carelessly,  "  did  Mr.  Dodd 
gay  any  thing  to  you  on  the  lawn  ?" 

"What  about?" 

"  About  what  was  said  after  you  went  out  so  ru — so  sud- 
denly." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          143 

"No;  why?  what  was  said?  Something  about  me? 
Tell  me." 

"  Oh  no,  dear ;  as  Mr.  Dodd  did  not  mention  it,  it  is  not 
worth  while.  You  must  not  move  your  hands,  please." 

"  Now,  Lucy,  that  is  too  bad.  It  is  not  fair  to  excite  one's 
curiosity  and  then  stop  directly." 

"But  it  is  nothing.  Mr.  Talboys  teased  Mr.  Dodd  a  lit- 
tle, that  is  all,  and  Mr.  Dodd  was  not  so  patient  as  I  have 
seen  him  on  like  occasions.  There,  you,  are  disentangled  at 
last." 

"  Now,  signorina,  let  us  talk  sense.  Tell  me,  which  do 
you  like  best  of  all  the  gentlemen  that  come  here  ?" 

"  You,  dear ;  only  keep  your  hands  still." 

"  None  of  your  chaff,  Lucy." 

"Chaff!  what  is  that?" 

"Flattery,  then.  I  hope  it  isn't  that  affected  fool  Tal- 
boys, for  I  hate  him." 

"I  can  not  undertake  to  share  your  prejudices,  Mr. 
Arthur." 

"  Then  you  actually  like  him." 

"I  don't  dislike  him." 

"Then  I  pity  your  taste,  that  is  all." 

"  Mr.  Talboys  has  many  good  qualities ;  and  if  he  was 
what  you  describe  him,  Uncle  Fountain  would  not  prize 
him  as  he  does." 

"There  is  something  in  that,  Lucy;  but  I  think  my 
guardian  and  you  are  mad  upon  just  that  one  point.  Tal- 
boys is  a  fool  and  a  snob." 

"  Arthur,"  said  Lucy,  severely,  "  if  you  speak  so  of  my 
uncle's  friends,  you  and  I  shall  quarrel." 

"You  won't  quarrel  just  now,  if  you  can  help  it." 

"  Won't  I,  though  ?     Why  not,  pray  ?" 

"  Because  your  skein  is  not  wound  yet." 

"  Oh  you  little  black-hearted  thing !" 

"  I  know  human  nature,  miss,"  said  the  urchin,  pompous- 
ly;  "I  have  read  Miss  Edgeworth !  !  !" 

He  then  made  an  appeal  to  her  candor  and  good  sense. 


144         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"Now  don't  you  see  my  friend  Mr.  Dodd  is  worth  them  all 
put  together?" 

"  I  can't  quite  see  that." 

"  He  is  so  noble,  so  kind,  so  clever." 

"You  must  own  he  is  a  little  brusque." 

"  Never.  And  if  he  is,  that  is  not  like  hurting  people's 
feelings  on  purpose,  and  saying  nasty,  ill-natured  things 
wrapped  up  in  politeness  that  you  daren't  say  out  like  a 
man,  or  you'd  get  kicked.  He  is  a  gentleman  inside  ;  that 
Talboys  is  only  one  outside ;  but  you  girls  can't  look  below 
the  surface." 

"  We  have  not  read  Miss  Edgeworth.  His  hands  are  not 
so  white  as  Mr.  Talboys'." 

"Nor  his  liver  either — oh  you  goose!  Which  has  the 
finest  eyes?  why,  you  don't  see  such  eyes  as  Mr.  Dodd's 
every  day.  They  are  as  large  as  yours,  only  his  are 
dark." 

"Don't  be  angry,  dear.  You  must  admit  his  voice  is 
very  loud." 

"  He  can  make  it  loud,  but  it  is  always  low  and  gentle 
whenever  he  speaks  to'you.  I  have  noticed  that;  so  that 
is  monstrous  ungrateful  of  you." 

"There,  the  skein  is  wound.     Arthur!" 

"Well?" 

"  I  have  a  great  mind  to  tell  you  something  your  friend 
Mr.  Dodd  said  while  you  were  out  of  the  room — but  no,  you 
shall  finish  your  story  first." 

"  No,  no  ;  hang  the  story !" 

"  Ah !  you  only  say  that  out  of  politeness.  I  have  taken 
you  froifi  it  so  long  already." 

The  impetuous  boy  jumped  up,  seized  the  volumes,  dashed 
out,  and  presently  came  running  back  crying,  "There,  I 
have  thrown  them  behind  the  bookcase  forever  and  ever. 
Now  will  you  tell  me  what  he  said?" 

Lucy  smiled  triumphantly.  She  could  relish  a  bloodless 
victory  over  an  inanimate  rival.  Then  she  said  softly, 
"Arthur,  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you  is  in  confidence." 


LOVE    ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  145 

"I  will  be  torn  in  pieces  before  I  betray  it,"  said  the 
young  chevalier. 

Lucy  smiled  at  his  extravagance,  then  began  again  very 
gravely :  "  Mr.  Talboys,  who,  with  many  good  qualities,  has 
— what  shall  I  say  1 — narrow  and  artificial  views  compared 
with  your  friend — " 

"Ah  !   now  you  are  talking  sense." 

"  Then  why  interrupt  me,  dear — began  teasing  him,  and 
wanting  to  know  the  real  reason  he  comes  here." 

"The  real  reason?     What  did  the  fool  mean?" 

"  How  can  I  tell,  Arthur,  any  more  than  you  ?  Mr.  Dodd 
evidently  thought  that  some  slur  was  meant  on  the  purity 
of  his  friendship  for  you." 

"Shame!  shame!  oh!" 

"  I  saw  his  anger  rising ;  for  Mr.  Dodd,  though  not  irri- 
table, is  passionate — at  least  I  think  so.  I  tried  to  smooth 
matters.  But  no ;  Mr.  Talboys  persisted  in  putting  this 
ungenerous  question,  when  all  of  a  sudden  Mr.  Dodd  burst 
out, '  You  wish  to  know  why  I  love  Arthur  ?  Because  he 
is  an  orphan  ;  and  because  an  orphan  finds  a  brother  in  ev- 
ery man  who  is  worth  the  shoe-leather  he  stands  in.  That 
is  all  the  riddle,  you  lubber ! !'  It  was  terribly  rude ;  but 
oh !  Arthur,  I  must  tell  you  your  friend  looked  noble ;  he 
seemed  to  swell  and  rise  to  a  giant  as  he  spoke,  and  we  all 
felt  such  little  shrimps  around  him ;  and  his  lip  trembled, 
and  fire  flashed  from  his  eyes.  How  you  would  have  ad- 
mired him  then  ;  and  he  swept  out  of  the  room,  and  left  us 
for  his  little  friend,  who  is  worthy  of  it  all,  since  he  stands 
up  for  him  against  us  all.  Arthur !  why  he  is  crying !  poor 
child!  and  do  you  think  those  words  did  not  go'  to  my 
heart  as  well  ?  I  am.  an  orphan  too.  Arthur,  don't  cry, 
love!  oh!  oh!  oh!" 


Oh,  magic  of  a  word  from  a  great  heart !  Such  a  word, 
uncouth  and  simple,  but  hot  from  a  manly  bosom,  pierced 
silk  and  broadcloth  as  if  they  had  been  calico  and  fustian, 

G 


146  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

and  made  a  fashionable  young  lady  and  a  bold  school-boy 
take  hands  and  cry  together.  But  such  sweet  tears  dry 
quickly ;  they  dry  almost  as  they  flow. 

"  Hallo !"  cried  the  mercurial  prince ;  "  a  sudden  thought 
strikes  me.  You  kept  running  him  down  a  minute  ago." 

"  Me  f  said  Lucy,  with  a  look  of  amazement. 

"  Why,  you  know  you  did.  Now  tell  me  what  was  that 
for." 

"  To  give  you  the  pleasure  of  defending  him." 

"  Oh.  Hum  ?  Lucy,  you  are  not  quite  so  simple  as  the 
others  think ;  sometimes  I  can't  make  you  out  myself." 

"  Is  it  possible  ?     Well,  you  know  what  to  do,  dear." 

"No,  I  don't." 

"  Why,  read  Miss  Edgeworth  over  again." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

ARTHUR  was  bundled  off  to  a  private  tutor,  and  the 
Dodds  invited  to  Font  Abbey  no  more,  and  Talboys  dined 
there  three  days  a  week.  So  far,  David  Dodd  was  in  a  poor 
and  miserable  position  compared  with  Talboys,  who  visited 
Lucy  at  pleasure,  and  could  close  the  very  street  door 
against  a  rival,  real  or  imaginary.  But  the  street  door  is 
not  the  door  of  the  heart,  and  David  had  one  little  advan- 
tage over  his  powerful  antagonist:  it  was  a  slender  one, 
and  he  owed  it  to  a  subtle  source — female  tact.  His  sister 
had  long  been  aware  of  Talboys.  The  gossip  of  the  village 
had  enlightened  her  as  to  his  visits  and  supposed  preten- 
sions. She  had  deliberately  withheld  this  information  from 
her  brother,  for  she  said  to  herself,  "Men  always  make 
'  such  fools  of  themselves  when  they  arfe  jealous.  No.  Da- 
vid sha'n't  even  know  he  has  got  a  rival ;  if  he  did  he  would 
be  wretched  and  live  on  thorns,  and  then  he  would  get  into 
passions,  and  either  make  a  fool  of  himself  in  her  eyes,  or  do 
something  rash  and  be  shown  to  the  door."  Thus  far  Eve, 
defending  her  brother.  And  with  this  piece  of  shrewdness 


LOVE   ME   LTTTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  147 

she  did  a  little  more  for  him  than  she  intended  or  was  con- 
scious of;  for  Talboys,  either  by  feeble  calculation  or  instinct 
of  petty  rivalry,  constantly  sneered  at  David  before  Lucy ; 
David  never  mentioned  Talboys'  name  to  her.  Now  superior 
ignores,  inferior  detracts.  Thus  Talboys  lowered  himself  and 
rather  elevated  David ;  moreover,  he  counteracted  his  own 
strongest  weapon,  the  street  door.  After  putting  David 
out  of  sight,  this  judicious  rival  could  not  let  him  fade  out 
of  mind  too ;  he  found  means  to  stimulate  the  lady's  mem- 
ory, and,  as  far  as  in  him  lay,  made  the  absent  present. 
May  all  my  foes  unweave  their  webs  as  cleverly !  David 
knew  nothing  of  this.  He  saw  himself  shut  out  from  Para- 
dise, and  he  was  sad.  He  felt  the  loss  of  Arthur  too.  The 
orphan  had  been  medicine  to  him.  When  a  man  is  absorbed 
in  a  hopeless  passion,  to  be  employed  every  day  in  a  good 
action  has  a  magical  soothing  influence  on  the  racked  heart. 
Try  this  instead  of  suicide,  despairing  lover.  It  is  a  quack 
remedy ;  no  M.D.  prescribes  it.  Never  you  mind ;  in 
desperate  ills  a  little  cure  is  worth  a  deal  of  etiquette. 
Poor  David  had  lost  this  innocent  comfort — lost,  too,  the 
pleasure  of  going  every  day  to  the  house  she  lived  in.  To 
be  sure,  when  he  used  to  go  he  seldom  caught  a  glimpse  of 
her,  but  he  did  now  and  then,  and  always  enjoyed  the  hope. 

"  I  see  how  it  is,"  said  he,  to  Eve  one  day ;  "  I  am  not 
welcome  to  the  master  of  the  house.  Well,  he  is  the  mas- 
ter ;  I  shall  not  force  my  way  where  I  am  not  welcome ;" 
but  after  these  spirited  words  he  hung  his  head. 

"  Oh,  nonsense,"  said  Eve.  "  It  isn't  him.  There  are 
mischief-makers  behind." 

"  Ay  ?  just  you  tell  me  who  they  are.  I'll  teach  them  to 
come  across  my  hawse ;"  and  David's  eyes  flashed. 

"Don't  you  be  silly,"  said  Eve,  and  turned  it  off;  "and 
don't  be  so  down-hearted.  Why,  you  are  not  half  a  man." 

."  No  more  I  am,  Eve.     What  has  come  to  me  ?" 

"  What,  indeed  1  just  when  every  thing  goes  swimmingly." 

"  Eve,  how  can  you  say  so  T' 

"Why,  David,  she  leaves  this  in  a  few  days  for  Mrs. 


148  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONG. 

Bazalgette's  house.  You  tell  me  you  have  got  a  warm  in- 
vitation there.  Then  make  the  play  there,  and,  if  you  can't 
win  her,  say  you  don't  deserve  her,  twiddle  your  thumb,  and 
see  a  bolder  lover  carry  her  off.  You  foolish  boy,  she  is 
only  a  woman ;  she  is  to  be  won.  If  you  don't  mind,  some 
man  will  show  you  it  was  as  easy  as  you  think  it  is  hard ; 
timid  wooers  make  a  mountain  of  a  mole-hill." 

"Why,  it  is  you  who  have  kept  me  backing  and  filling 
all  this  time,  Eve." 

"  Of  course.  Prudence  at  first  starting,  but  that  isn't  to 
eay  courage  is  never  to  come  in.  First  creep  within  the 
fortification  wall ;  but,  once  inside,  if  you  don't  storm  the 
city  that  minute,  woe  be  unto  you.  Come,  cheer  up !  it  is 
only  for  a  few  days,  and  then  she  goes  where  you  will  have 
her  all  to  yourself;  besides,  you  shall  have  one  sweet  de- 
licious evening  with  her  all  alone  before  she  goes.  What ! 
have  you  forgotten  the  pedigree?  Wasn't  I  right  to  keep 
that  back  ?  and  now  march  and  take  a  good  long  walk." 

Her  tongue  was  a  spur :  it  made  David's  drooping  man- 
hood rear  and  prance — a  trumpet,  and  pealed  victory  to 
come.  David  kissed  her  warmly,  and  strode  away  radiant. 
She  looked  sadly  after  him. 

She  had  never  spoken  so  hopefully,  so  encouragingly. 
The  reason  will  startle  such  of  my  readers  as  have  not  taken 
the  trouble  to  comprehend  her.  It  was  that  she  had  never 
so  thoroughly  desponded :  such  was  Eve.  When  matters 
went  smoothly,  she  itched  to  torment  and  take  the  gloss  oft' 
David ;  but  now  the  affair  looked  really  desperate,  so  it 
would  have  been  unkind  not  to  sustain  him  with  all  her 
soul.  The  cause  of  her  despondency  and  consequent  cheer- 
fulness shall  now  be  briefly  related.  Scarce  an  hour  ago 
she  had  met  Miss  Fountain  in  the  village  and  accompanied 
her  home.  For  David's  sake,  she  had  diverted  the  conver- 
sation by  easy  degrees  to  the  subject  of  marriage,  in  order 
to  sound  Miss  Fountain.  "You  would  never  give  your 
hand  without  your  heart,  I  am  sure." 

"  Heaven  forbid,"  was  the  reply. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONG.  149 

"  Not  even  to  a  coronet  1" 

"  Not  even  to  a  crown." 

So  far  so  good ;  but  Miss  Fountain  went  on  to  say  that 
the  heart  was  not  the  only  thing  to  be  consulted  in  a  mat- 
ter so  important  as  marriage. 

"  It  is  the  only  thing  I  would  ever  consult,"  said  Eve. 
As  Lucy  did  not  reply,  Eve  asked  her  next  what  she  would 
do  if  she  loved  a  poor  man.  Lucy  replied  coldly  that  it 
was  not  her  present  intention  to  love  any  body  but  her  rela- 
tions ;  that  she  should  never  love  any  gentleman  until  she 
had  been  married  to  him,  or,  correcting  herself,  at  all  events, 
been  some  time  engaged  to  him,  and  she  should  certainly 
never  engage  herself  to  any  one  who  would  not  rather  im- 
prove her  position  in  society  than  deteriorate  it.  Eve  met 
these  pretty  phrases  with  a  look  of  contempt,  as  much  as  to 
say,  "While  you  speak  I  am  putting  all  that  into  plain 
vulgar  English."  The  other  did  not  seem  to  notice  it. 
"  To  leave  this  interesting  topic  for  a  while,"  said  she,  lan- 
guidly, "let  me  consult  you,  Miss  Dodd.  I  have  not,  as 
you  may  have  noticed,  great  abilities,  but  I  have  received 
an  excellent  education.  To  say  nothing  of  those  soi-disant 
accomplishments  with  which  we  adorn  and  sometimes  weary 
society,  my  dear  mother  had  me  well  grounded  in  languages 
and  history.  Without  being  eloquent,  I  have  a  certain 
fluency,  in  which,  they  tell  me,  even  members  of  Parlia- 
ment are  deficient,  smoothly  as  their  speeches  read  made 
into  English  by  the  newspapers.  Like  yourself,  Miss  Dodd, 
and  all  our  sex,  I  am  not  destitute  of  tact,  and  tact,  you 
know,  is  '  the  talent  of  talents.'  I  feel,"  here  she  bit  her 
lip,  "  myself  fit  for  public  life.  I  am  ambitious." 

"  Oh,  you  are,  are  you?" 

"  Very ;  and  perhaps  you  will  kindly  tell  me  how  I  had 
best  direct  that  ambition.  The  army?  no;  marching  against 
daisies,  and  dancing  and  flirting  in  garrison  towns,  is  frivo- 
lous and  monotonous  too.  It  isn't  as  if  war  was  raging, 
trumpets  ringing,  and  squadrons  charging.  Your  brother's 
profession  ?  Not  for  the  world :  I  am  a  coward"  [consist- 


150  LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

ent].  "  Shall  I  lower  my  pretensions  to  the  learned  profes- 
sions ?" 

"  I  don't  doubt  your  cleverness,  but  the  learned  profes- 
sions ?" 

"  A  woman  has  a  tongue,  you  know,  and  that  is  their 
grand  requisite.  I  interrupted  you,  Miss  Dodd ;  pray  for- 
give me. 

"  Well,  then,  let  us  go  through  them.  To  be  a  clergy- 
man, what  is  required?  to  preach,  and  visit  the  sick,  and 
feel  for  them,  and  understand  what  passes  in  the  sorrowful 
hearts  of  the  afflicted.  Is  that  beyond  our  sex  ?" 

"  That  last  is  far  more  beyond  a  man  at  most  times ;  and 
oh,  the  discourses  one  has  to  sit  out  in  church !" 

"  Portia  made  a  very  passable  barrister,  Miss  Dodd." 

"Oh,  did  she?" 

"  Why  you  know  she  did ;  and  as  for  medicine,  the  great 
successes  there  are  achieved  by  honeyed  words,  with  a  long 
word  thrown  in  here  and  there.  I've  heard  my  own  mam- 
ma say  so :  now  which  shall  I  be  ?" 

"  I  suppose  you  are  making  fun  of  me,"  said  Eve ;  "  but 
there  is  many  a  true  word  spoken  in  jest.  You  could  be  a 
better  parson,  lawyer,  or  doctor  than  nine  out  of  ten,  but 
they  won't  let  us.  They  know  we  could  beat  them  into 
fits  at  any  thing  but  brute  strength  and  wickedness,  so  they 
have  shut  all  those  doors  in  us  poor  girls'  faces." 

"There ;  you  see,"  said  Lucy,  archly,  "  but  two  lines  are 
open  to  our  honorable  ambition,  marriage  and — water-col- 
ors. I  think  marriage  the  more  honorable  of  the  two ; 
above  all,  it  is  the  more  fashionable.  Can  you  blame  me, 
then,  if  my  ambition  chooses  the  altar  and  not  the  ea- 
sel?" 

"  So  that  is  what  you  have  been  bringing  me  to." 

"  You  came  of  your  own  accord,"  was  the  sly  retort. 
"Let  me  offer  you  some  luncheon." 

"  No,  thank  you  ;  I  could  not  eat  a  morsel  just  now." 

Eve  went  away,  her  bright  little  face  visibly  cast  down. 
It  was  not  Miss  Fountain's  words  only,  and  that  new  trait, 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  151 

of  hard  satire,  which  she  had  so  suddenly  produced  from  her 
secret  recesses.  Her  very  tones  were  cynical  and  worldly 
to  Eve's  delicate  sense  of  hearing. 

"  Poor,  poor  David !  !"  she  thought,  and  when  she  got 
to  the  door  of  the  room  she  sighed ;  and  as  she  went  home 
she  said  more  than  once  to  herself,  "  No  more  heart  than  a 
marble  statue.  Oh !  how  true  our  first  thought  is ;  I  come 
back  to  mine — " 

Lucy  (sola).  "  Then  what  right  had  she  to  come  here  and 
try  to  turn  me  inside  out  1" 


CHAPTER  X. 

As  the  hour  of  Lucy's  departure  drew  near,  Mr.  Fount- 
am  became  anxious  to  see  her  betrothed  to  his  friend,  for 
fear  of  accidents.  "  You  had  better  propose  to  her  in  form, 
or  authorize  me  to  do  so,  before  she  goes  to  that  Mrs.  Baz- 
algette."  This  time  it  was  Talboys  that  hung  back:  he 
objected  that  the  time  was  not  opportune.  "I  make  no 
advance,"  said  he ;  "on  the  contrary,  I  seem  of  late  to  have 
lost  ground  with  your  niece." 

"  Oh,  I've  seen  the  sort  of  distance  she  has  put  on ;  all 
superficial,  my  dear  sir.  I  read  it  in  your  favor.  I  know 
the  sex ;  they  can't  elude  me.  Pique,  sir — nothing  on  earth 
but  female  pique.  She  is  bitter  against  us  for  shilly-shal- 
lying. These  girls  hate  shilly-shally  in  a  man.  They  are 
monopolists — severe  monopolists ;  shilly-shally  is  one  of 
their  monopolies.  Throw  yourself  at  her  feet,  and  press 
her  with  ardor ;  she  will  clear  up  directly."  The  proposed 
attitude  did  not  tempt  the  stiff  Talboys.  His  pride  took 
the  alarm. 

"  Thank  you :  it  is  a  position  in  which  I  should  not  care 
to  place  myself  unless  I  was  quite  sure  of  not  being  refused. 
No,  I  will  not  risk  my  proposal  while  she  is  under  the  in- 
fluence of  this  Dodd ;  he  is,  somehow  or  other,  the  cause 
of  her  coldness  to  me." 


152  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  Good  heavens !  why,  she  has  been  hermetically  sealed 
against  him  ever  so  long,"  cried  Fountain,  almost  angrily. 

"  I  saw  his  sister  come  out  of  your  gate  only  the  other 
day.  Sisters  are  emissaries — dangerous  ones  too.  Who 
knows?  her  very  coldness  may  he  vexation  that  this  man 
is  excluded.  Perhaps  she  suspects  me  as  the  cause." 

"These  are  chimeras — wild  chimeras.  My  niece  cares 
nothing  for  such  people  as  the  Dodds." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon ;  these  low  attachments  are  the 
strongest.  It  is  a  notorious  fact." 

"  There  is  no  attachment ;  there  is  nothing  but  civility, 
and  the  affability  of  a  well-bred  superior  to  an  inferior. 
Attachment !  why,  there  is  not  a  girl  in  Europe  less  capa- 
ble of  marrying  beneath  her ;  and  she  is  too  cold  to  flirt — 
but  with  a  view  to  a  matrimonial  position.  The  worst  of 
it  is,  that  while  you  fear  an  imaginary  danger,  you  are  run- 
ning into  a  real  one.  If  we  are  defeated  it  will  not  be  by 
Dodd,  but  by  that  Mrs.  Bazalgette.  Why,  now  I  think  of 
it,  whence  does  Lucy's  coldness  date  ?  from  that  viper's  vis- 
it to  my  house.  Rely  on  it,  if  we  are  suffering  from  any 
rival  influence,  it  is  that  woman's.  She  is  a  dangerous 
woman — she  is  a  character  I  detest — she  is  a  schemer." 

"Am  I  to  understand  that  Mrs.  Bazalgette  has  views  of 
her  owu  for  Miss  Fountain  ?"  inquired  Talboys,  his  jealousy 
half  inclined  to  follow  the  new  lead. 

"  In  all  probability."     . 

"Oh  !  then  it  is  mere  surmise." 

"  No,  it  is  not  mere  surmise ;  it  is  the  reasonable  conjec- 
ture of  a  man  who  knows  her  sex,  and  human  nature,  and 
life.  Since  I  have  my  views,  what  -more  likely  than  that 
she  has  hers,  if  only  to  spite  me  ?  Add  to  this  her  strange 
visit  to  Font  Abbey,  and  the  sombre  influence  she  has  left 
behind.  And  to  this  woman  Lucy  is  going  unprotected  by 
any  positive  pledge  to  you.  Here  is  the  true  cause  for  anx- 
iety. And  if  you  do  not  share  it  with  me,  it  must  be  that 
you  do  not  care  about  our  alliance." 

Mr.  Talboys  was  hurt.     "  Not  care  for  the  alliance  ?     It 


LOVE   Mfi   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  153 

was  dear  to  him — all  the  dearer  for  the  difficulties.  He 
was  attached  to  Miss  Fountain — warmly  attached ;  would 
do  any  thing  for  her  except  run  the  risk  of  an  affront — a 
refusal."  Then  followed  a  long  discussion,  the  result  of 
which  was  that  he  would  not  propose  in  form  now,  but 
would  give  proofs  of  his  attachment  such  as  no  lady  could 
mistake  ;  inter  alia,  he  would  be  sure  to  spend  the  last  even- 
ing with  her,  and  would  ride  the  first  stage  with  her  next 
day,  squeeze  her  hand  at  parting,  and  look  unutterable. 
And  as  for  the  formal  proposal,  that  was  only  postponed  a 
week  or  two.  Mr.  Fountain  was  to  pay  his  visit  to  Mrs. 
Bazalgette,  and  secretly  prepare  Miss  Fountain ;  then  Tal- 
boys  would  suddenly  pounce  and — pop.  The  grandeur  and 
boldness  of  this  strategy  staggered  rather  than  displeased 
Mr.  Fountain. 

"  What !  under  her  own  roof?"  and  he  could  not  help 
rubbing  his  hands  with  glee  and  spite — "  under  her  own  eye 
and  malgrc  her  personal  influence  ?  Why  you  are  Nap.  I." 

"She  will  be  quite  out  of  the  way  of  the  Dodds  there," 
said  Talboys,  slyly. 

The  senior  groaned  (" '  Mule  I.'  I  should  have  taid"). 

And  so  they  cut  and  dried  it  all. 


The  last  evening  came,  and  with  it,  just  before  dinner,  a 
line  by  special  messenger  from  Mr.  Talboys.  "  He  could 
not  come  that  evening.  His  brother  had  just  arrived  from 
India :  they  had  not  met  for  seven  years.  He  could  not  set 
him  to  dine  alone." 

After  dinner,  in  the  middle  of  her  uncle's  nap,  in  came 
Lucy,  and,  unheard-of  occurrence — deed  of  dreadful  note — 
woke  him.  She  was  radiant,  and  held  a  note  from  Eve. 
"Good  news,  uncle:  those  good,  kind  Dodds!  they  are 
coming  to  tea." 

"  What  ?"  and  he  wore  a  look  of  consternation.  Recol- 
lecting, however,  that  Talboys  was  not  to  be  there,  he  was 

G2 


154  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

indifferent  again.     But  when  he  read  the  note  he  longed  for 
his  self-invited  visitors.     It  ran  thus : 

"DEAR  Miss  FOUNTAIN, — David  has  found  out  the  gen- 
ealogy. He  says  there  is  no  doubt  you  came  from  the 
Fountains  of  Melton,  and  he  can  prove  it.  He  has  proved 
it  to  me,  and  I  am  none  the  wiser.  So,  as  David  is  obliged 
to  go  away  to-morrow,  I  think  the  best  way  is  for  me  to 
bring  him  over  with  the  papers  to-night.  We  will  come  at 
eight,  unless  you  have  company." 

"  He  is  a  worthy  young  man."  shouted  Mr.  Fountain. 
"What  o'clock  is  it?" 

"  Very  nearly  eight.  Oh,  uncle,  I  am  so  glad.  How 
pleased  you  will  be !" 

The  Dodds  arrived  soon  after,  and  while  tea  was  going 
on  David  spread  his  parchments  on  the  table  and  submitted 
his  proofs.  He  had  eked  out  the  other  evidence  by  means 
of  a  series  of  leases.  The  three  fields  that  went  with  Font 
Abbey  had  been  let  a  great  many  times,  and  the  landlord's 
name,  Fountain  in  the  latter  leases,  was  Fontaine  in  those 
of  remoter  date.  David  even  showed  his  host  the  exact 
date  at  which  the  change  of  orthography  took  place.  "  You 
are  a  shrewd  young  gentleman,"  cried  Mr.  Fountain,  glee- 
fully. David  then  asked  him  what  were  the  names  of  his 
three  meadows.  The  names  of  them  ?  he  didn't  know  they 
had  any. 

"No  names'?  why  there  isn't  a  field  in  England  that 
hasn't  its  own  name,  sir.  I  noticed  that  before  I  went  to 
sea."  He  then  told  Mr.  Fountain  the  names  of  his  three 
meadows,  and  curious  names  they  were  ;  two  of  them  were 
a  great  deal  older  than  William  the  Conqueror.  David 
wrote  them  on  a  slip  of  paper.  He  then  produced  a  chart. 
"What  is  that,  Mr.  David?" 

"  A  map  of  the  Melton  estate,  sir." 

"  Why,  how  on  earth  did  you  get  that  ?" 

"  An  old  shipmate  of  mine  lives  in  that  quarter — got  him 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  155 

to  make  it  for  me.  Overhaul  it,  sir ;  you  will  find  the  Mel- 
ton estate  has  got  all  your  three  names  within  a  furlong  of 
the  mansion-house." 

"  From  this  you  infer — " 

"  That  one  of  that  house  came  here,  and  brought  the  E 
along  with  him,  that  has  got  dropped  somehow  since,  and, 
being  so  far  from  his  birth-place,  he  thought  he  would  have 
one  or  two  of  the  old  names  about  him.  "What  will  you 
bet  me  he  hasn't  shot  more  than  one  brace  of  partridges  on 
those  fields  about  Melton  when  he  was  a  boy  ?  So  he  chris- 
tened your  three  fields  afresh,  and  the  new  names  took; 
likely  he  made  a  point  of  it  with  the  people  in  the  village. 
For  all  that,  I  have  found  one  old  fellow  who  stands  out 
against  them  to  this  day:  his  name  is  Newel.  He  will 
persist  in  calling  the  field  next  to  your  house  Snap  Witch- 
eloe.  '  That  is  what  my  grandfather  allus  named  it,'  says 
he,  '  and  that  is  the  name  it  went  by  afore  there  was  ever  a 
Fountain  in  this  ere  parish.'  I  have  looked  in  the  Parish 
Register,  and  I  see  Newel's  grandfather  was  born  in  1690. 
Now,  sir,  all  this  is  not  mathematical  proof;  but,  when  you 
come  to  add  it  to  your  own  direct  proofs,  that  carry  you 
within  a  cable's  length  of  Port  Fontaine,  it  is  very  convinc- 
ing ;  and,  not  to  pay  out  too  much  yarn,  I'll  bet — my  head 
— to  a  China  orange — " 

"  David,  don't  be  vulgar." 

"  Never  mind,  Mr.  Dodd — be  yourself." 

"  Well,  then,  to  serve  Eve  out,  I'll  bet  her  head  (and  that 
is  a  better  one  than  mine)  to  a  China  orange  that  Fontaine 
and  Fountain  are  one,  and  that  the  first  Fontaine  came  over 
here  from  Melton  more  than  130  years  ago,  and  less  than 
140,  when  Newel's  grandfather  was  a  young  man." 

"  Probatum  est"  shouted  old  Fountain,  his  eyes  sparkling, 
his  voice  trembling  with  emotion.  "  Miss  Fontaine,"  said 
he,  turning  to  Lucy,  throwing  a  sort  of  pompous  respect  into 
his  voice  and  manner,  "you  shall  never  marry  any  man  that 
can  not  give  you  as  good  a  home  as  Melton,  and  quarter  as 
good  a  coat  of  arms  with  you  as  your  own,  the  Founteyns'." 


156  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

David's  heart  took  a  chill  as  if  an  ice-arrow  had  gone  through 
it.  "  So  join  me  to  thank  our  young  friend  here." 

Mr.  Fountain  held  out  his  hand.  David  gave  his  me- 
chanically in  return,  scarcely  knowing  what  he  did.  "  You 
are  a  worthy  and  most  intelligent  young  man,  and  you  have 
made  an  old  man  as  happy  as  a  lord,"  said  the  old  gentle- 
man, shaking  him  warmly. 

"  And  there  is  my  hand  too,"  said  Lucy,  putting  out  hers 
with  a  blush,  "  to  show  you  I  bear  you  no  malice  for  being 
more  unselfish  and  more  sagacious  than  us  all."  Instantly 
David's  cold  chill  fled  unreasonably.  His  cheeks  burned 
with  blushes,  his  eyes  glowed,  his  heart  thumped,  and  the 
delicate  white,  supple,  warm,  velvet  hand  that  nestled  in 
his  shot  electric  tremors  through  his  whole  frame,  when 
glided,  with  well-bred  noiselessness,  through  the  open  door, 
Mr.  Talboys,  and  stood  looking  yellow  at  that  ardent  group, 
and  the  massive  yet  graceful  bare  arm  stretched  across  the 
table,  and  the  white  hand  melting  into  the  brown  one. 

While  he  stood  staring  David  looked  up,  and  caught  that 
strange,  that  yellow  look.  Instantly  a  light  broke  in  on 
him.  "So  I  should  look,"  felt  David,  "if  I  saw  her  hand 
in  his."  He  held  Lucy's  hand  tight  (she  was  just  begin- 
ning to  withdraw  it),  and  glared  from  his  seat  on  the  new- 
comer like  a  lion  ready  to  spring.  Eve  read  and  turned 
pale ;  she  knew  what  was  in  the  man's  blood. 

Lucy  now  quietly  withdrew  her  hand,  and  turned  with 
smiling  composure  toward  the  new-comer,  and  Mr.  Fountain 
thrust  a  minor  anxiety  between  the  passions  of  the  rivals. 
He  rose  hastily,  and  went  to  Talboys,  and,  under  cover  of  a 
warm  welcome,  took  care  to  let  him  know  Miss  Dodd  had 
been  kind  enough  to  invite  herself  and  David.  He  then  ex- 
plained with  uneasy  animation  what  David  had  done  for  him. 

Talboys  received  all  this  with  marked  coldness;  but  it 
gave  him  time  to  recover  his  self-possession.  He  shook 
hands  with  Lucy,  all  but  ignored  David  and  Eve,  and  qui- 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONG.  157 

etly  assumed  the  part  of  principal  personage.  He  then 
spoke  to  Lucy  in  a  voice  tuned  for  the  occasion,  to  give  the 
impression  that  confidential  communication  was  not  unusual 
between  him  and  her.  He  apologized,  scarce  above  a  whis- 
per, for  not  having  come  to  dinner  on  her  last  day. 

"But  after  dinner,"  said  he,  "my  brother  seemed  fa- 
tigued. I  treacherously  recommended  bed.  You  forgive 
met  The  nabob  instantly  acted  on  my  selfish  hint.  I 
mounted  my  horse,  and  me  voila"  In  short,  in  two  min- 
utes he  had  retaliated  tenfold  on  David.  As  for  Lucy,  she 
was  a  good  deal  amused  at  this  sudden  public  assumption 
of  a  tenderness  the  gentleman  had  never  exhibited  in  pri- 
vate, but  a  little  mortified  at  his  parade  of  mysterious  famil- 
iarity ;  still,  for  a  certain  female  reason,  she  allowed  neither 
to  appear,  but  wore  an  air  of  calm  cordiality,  and  gave  Tal- 
boys  his  full  swing. 

David,  seated  sore  against  his  will  at  another  table, 
whither  Mr.  Fountain  removed  him  and  parchments  on 
pretense  of  inspecting  the  leases,  listened  with  hearing  pre- 
ternaturally  keen — listened  and  writhed. 

His  back  was  toward  them.  At  last  he  heard  Talboys 
propose  in  murmuring  accents  to  accompany  her  the  first 
stage  of  her  journey.  She  did  not  answer  directly,  and  that 
second  was  an  age  of  anguish  to  poor  David. 

"When  she  did  answer,  as  if  to  compensate  for  her  hesita- 
tion, she  said,  with  alacrity,  "  I  shall  be  delighted ;  it  will 
vary  the  journey  most  agreeably ;  I  will  ride  the  pony  you 
were  so  kind  as  to  give  me." 

The  letters  swam  before  David's  eyes. 

Lucy  came  to  the  table,  and,  standing  close  behind  Da- 
vid— so  close  that  he  felt  her  pure  cool  breath  mingle  with 
his  hair,  said  to  her  uncle,  "  Mr.  Talboys  proposes  to  me  to 
ride  the  first  stage  to-morrow ;  if  I  do,  you  must  be  of  the 
party." 

"  Oh  !  must  I  ?    Well,  I'll  roll  after  you  in  my  phaeton." 

At  this  moment  Eve  could  bear  no  longer  the  anguish  on 
David's  beloved  face.  It  made  her  hysterical.  She  could 


158        LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

hardly  command  herself.  She  rose  hastily,  and  saying, 
"  We  must  not  keep  you  up  the  night  before  a  jonpney," 
took  leave  with  David.  As  he  shook  hands  with  Lucy,  his 
imploring  eye  turned  full  on  hers,  and  sought  to  dive  into 
her  heart.  But  that  soft  sapphire  eye  was  unfathomable : 
it  was  like  those  dark-blue  southern  waters  that  seem  to  re- 
veal all,  yet  hide  all,  so  deep  they  are,  though  clear. 

Eve.  "  Thank  heaven,  we  are  safe  out  of  the  house." 
David.  "  I  have  got  arrival." 

Eve.  "A  pretty  rival:  she  doesn't  care  a  button  for 
him." 

David.  "  He  rides  the  first  stage  with  her." 
Eve.  "  Well,  what  of  that  ?" 
David.  "  I  have  got  a  rival." 

David  was  none  of  your  lie-a-beds.  He  rose  at  five  in 
summer,  six  in  winter,  and  studied  hard  till  breakfast-time ; 
after  that  he  was  at  every  fool's  service.  This  morning  he 
did  not  appear  at  the  breakfast- table,  and  the  servant  had 
not  seen  him  about.  Eve  ran  up  stairs  full  of  anxiety.  He 
was  not  in  his  room.  The  bed  had  not  been  slept  in :  the 
impress  of  his  body  outside  showed,  however,  that  he  had 
flung  himself  down  on  it  to  snatch  an  uneasy  slumber. 

Eve  sent  the  girl  into  the  village  to  see  if  she  could  find 
him  or  hear  tidings  of  him.  The  girl  ran  out  without  her 
bonnet,  partaking  her  mistress's  anxiety,  but  did  not  return 
for  nearly  half  an  hour,  that  seemed  an  age  to  Eve.  The 
girl  had  lost  some  time  by  going  to  Josh.  Grace  for  informa- 
tion. Grace's  house  stood  in  an  orchard;  so  he  was  the 
unlikeliest  man  in  the  village  to  have  seen  David.  She  set 
against  this  trivial  circumstance  the  weighty  one  that  he 
was  her  sweetheart,  and  went  to  him  first. 

"I  han't  a-sin  him,  Sue;  thee  hadst  better  ask  at  the 
blacksmith's  shop,"  said  Joshua  Grace. 

Susan  profited  by  this  hint,  and  learned  at  the  black- 
smith's shop  that  David  had  gone  by  up  the  road  about  six 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG.  159 

in  the  morning,  walking  very  fast.  She  brought  the  news 
to  Eve. 

"  Toward  Royston  ?" 

"  Yes,  miss ;  but,  la !  he  won't  ever  think  to  go  all  the 
way  to  Royston — without  his  breakfast." 

"  That  will  do,  Susan.  I  think  I  know  what  he  is  gone 
for." 

On  the  servant  retiring,  her  assumed  firmness  left  her. 

"On  the  road  she  is  to  travel!  and  his  rival  with  her. 
What  mad  act  is  he  going  to  do?  Heaven  have  mercy  on 
him,  and  me,  and  her !" 

Eve  knew  what  was  in  the  man's  blood.  She  sat  trem- 
bling at  home  till  she  could  bear  it  no  longer.  She  put  on 
her  bonnet,  and  sallied  out  on  the  road  to  Royston,  determ- 
ined to  stop  the  carriage,  profess  to  have  business  at  Roy- 
ston, and  take  a  seat  beside  Mr.  Fountain.  She  felt  that 
the  very  sight  of  her  might  prevent  David  from  committing 
any  great  rashness  or  folly.  On  reaching  the  high  road, 
she  observed  a  fresh  track  of  narrow  wheels,  that  her  rustic 
experience  told  her  could  only  be  those  of  a  four-wheeled 
carriage,  and,  making  inquiries,  she  found  she  was  too  late ; 
carriage  and  riders  had  gone  on  before. 

Her  heart  sank.  Too  late  by  a  few  minutes ;  but  some- 
how she  could  not  turn  back.  She  walked  as  fast  as  she 
could  after  the  gay  cavalcade,  a  prey  to  one  of  those  female 
anxieties  we  have  all  laughed  at  as  extravagant,  proved  un- 
reasonable, and  sometimes  found  prophetic. 

Meantime  Lucy  and  Mr.  Talboys  cantered  gayly  along ; 
Mr.  Fountain  rolled  after  in  a  phaeton;  the  traveling-car- 
riage came  last.  Lucy  was  in  spirits :  motion  enlivens  us 
all,  but  especially  such  of  us  as  are  women.  She  had  also 
another  cause  for  cheerfulness,  that  may  perhaps  transpire. 
Her  two  companions  and  unconscious  dependents  were  gov- 
erned by  her  mood.  She  made  them  larks  to-day,  as  she 
had  owls  for  some  weeks  past,  last  night  excepted.  She 
would  fall  back  every  now  and  then,  and  let  Uncle  Fount- 
ain pass  her ;  then  come  dashing  up  to  him,  and  either  pull 


160  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

up  short  with  a  piece  of  solemn  information  like  an  aide-de- 
camp from  head-quarters,  or  pass  him  shooting  a  shaft  of 
raillery  back  into  his  chariot,  whereat  he  would  rise  with 
mock  fury  and  yell  a  repartee  after  her.  Fountain  found 
himself  good  company — Talboys  himself.  It  was  not  the 
lady ;  oh  dear  no !  it  never  is. 

At  last  all  seemed  so  bright,  and  Mr.  Talboys  found  him- 
self so  agreeable,  that  he  suddenly  recalled  his  high  resolve 
not  to  pop  in  a  county  desecrated  by  Dodds.  "  I'll  risk  it 
now,"  said  he ;  and  he  rode  back  to  Fountain  and  imparted 
his  intention,  and  the  senior  nearly  bounded  off  his  seat. 
He  sounded  the  charge  in  a  stage  whisper,  because  of  the 
coachman,  "At  her  at  once!" 

"  Secret  conference  ?  hum !"  said  Lucy,  twisting  her  pony, 
and  looking  slyly  back. 

Mr.  Talboys  rejoined  her,  and,  after  a  while,  began  in 
strange,  melodious  accents,  "  You  will  leave  a  blank — " 

"  Shall  we  canter  ?"  said  Lucy,  gayly,  and  off  went  the 
pony.  Talboys  followed,  and  at  the  next  hill  resumed  the 
sentimental  cadence. 

"  You  will  leave  a  sad  blank  here,  Miss  Fountain." 

"No  greater  than  I  found,"  replied  the  lady,  innocent- 
ly (?).  "  Oh  dear!"  she  cried,  with  sudden  interest,  "I  am 
afraid  I  have  dropped  my  comb."  She  felt  under  her  hat. 
[No,  viper,  you  have  not  dropped  your  comb,  but  you  are 
feeling  for  a  large  black  pin  with  a  head  to  it :  there,  you 
have  found  it,  and  taken  it  out  of  your  hair,  and  got  it  hid 
in  your  hand.  What  is  that  for  ?] 

"  Ten  times  greater,"  moaned  the  honeyed  Talboys ;  "for 
then  we  had  not  seen  you.  Ah !  my  dear  Miss  Fountain — 
the  devil!  wo-ho,  Goliah !" 

For  the  pony  spilled  the  treacle.  He  lashed  out  both 
heels  with  a  squeak  of  amazement  within  an  inch  of  Mr. 
Talboys'  horse,  which  instantly  began  to  rear,  and  plunge, 
and  snort.  While  Talboys,  an  excellent  horseman,  was  calm- 
ing his  steed,  Lucy  was  condoling  with  hers.  "  Dear  little 
naughty  fellow !"  said  she,  patting  him,  ["  I  did  it  too  hard"]. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LOXG.  161 

"  As  I  was  saying,  the  blessing  we  have  never  enjoyed 
we  do  not  miss;  but,  now  that  you  have  shone  upon  us, 
what  can  reconcile  us  to  lose  you,  unless  it  be  the  hope  that 
—Hallo !" 

Lucy.  "Ah!" 

The  pony  was  off  with  a  bound  like  a  buck.  She  had 
found  out  the  right  depth  of  pin  this  time.  "  Ah  !  where 
is  my  whip?  I  have  dropped  it:  how  careless!"  Then 
they  had  to  ride  back  for  the  whip,  and  by  this  means  joined 
Mr.  Fo*ntain.  Lucy  rode  by  his  side,  and  got  the  carriage 
between  her  and  her  beau.  By  this  plan  she  not  only  evad- 
ed sentiment,  but  matured  by  a  series  of  secret  trials  her 
skill  with  her  weapon.  Armed  with  this  new  science,  she 
issued  forth,  and  whenever  Mr.  Talboys  left  off  indifferent 
remarks  and  sounded  her  affections,  she  probed  the  pony, 
and  he  kicked  or  bolted,  as  the  case  might  require. 

"  Confound  that  pony !"  cried  Talboys ;  "  he  used  to  be 
quiet  enough." 

"  Oh,  don't  scold  him,  dear  playful  little  love.  He  car- 
ries me  like  a  wave." 

At  this  simple  sentence  Talboys'  dormant  jealousy  con- 
trived to  revive.  He  turned  sulky,  and  would  not  waste 
any  more  tenderness,  and  presently  they  rattled  over  the 
stones  of  Royston.  Lucy  commended  her  pony  with  pecul- 
iar earnestness  to  the  ostler.  "  Pray  groom  him  well,  and 
feed  him  well,  sir ;  he  is  a  love."  The  ostler  swore  he  would 
not  wrong  her  ladyship's  nag  for  the  world. 

Lucy  then  expressed  her  desire  to  go  forward  without  de- 
lay: "Aunt  will  expect  me."  She  took  her  seat  in  the 
carriage,  bade  a  kind  farewell  to  both  the  gentlemen  now 
that  no  tender  answer  was  possible,  and  was  whirled  awayt 

Thus  the  coy  virgin  eluded  the  pair. 

Now  her  manner  in  taking  leave  of  Talboys  was  so  kind, 
so  smiling  (in  the  sweet  consciousness  of  having  baffled 
him),  that  Fountain  felt  sure  it  all  had  gone  smoothly. 
They  were  engaged. 

"  Well  ?"  he  cried,  with  great  animation. 


162  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONO. 

"  No,"  was  the  despondent  reply. 
"  Refused  f  screeched  the  other ;  "  impossible !" 
"  No,  thank  you,"  was  the  haughty  reply. 
"What  then?  did  you  change  your  mind?     Didn't  you 
propose  after  all  ?" 

"I  couldn't.     That  d — d  pony  wouldn't  keep  still." 
Fountain  groaned. 

Lucy,  left  to  herself,  gave  a  little  sigh  of  relief.  She  had 
been  playing  a  part  for  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  Her 
cordiality  with  Mr.  Talboys  naturally  misled  Eve  and  Da- 
vid, and  perhaps  a  male  reader  or  two.  Shall  I  give  the 
clew  ?  It  may  be  useful  to  you  young  gentlemen.  Well, 
then,  her  sex  are  compounders.  Accustomed  from  child- 
hood never  to  have  any  thing  entirely  their  own  way,  they 
are  content  to  give  and  take ;  and  these  terms  once  accept- 
ed, it  is  a  point  of  honor  and  tact  with  them  not  to  let  a 
creature  see  the  irksome  part  of  the  bargain  is  not  as  deli- 
cious as  the  other :  one  coat  of  their  own  varnish  goes  over 
the  smooth  and  the  rough,  the  bitter  and  the  sweet. 

Now  Lucy,  besides  being  singularly  polite  and  kind,  was 
femme  jusqu'  au  bout  des  ongles.  If  her  instincts  had  been 
reasons,  and  her  vague  thoughts  could  have  been  represent- 
ed by  any  thing  so  definite  as  words,  the  result  might  have 
appeared  thus : 

"  A  few  short  hours,  and  you  can  bore  me  no  more,  Mr. 
Talboys.  Now  what  must  I  do  for  you  in  return  ?  Seem 
not  to  be  bored  to-day  ?  Mais  c'est  la  moindre  des  choses.  Seem 
to  be  pleased  with  your  society  ?  Why  not  I  it  is  only  for  an 
hour  or  two,  and  my  seeming  to  like  it  will  not  prolong 
it.  My  heart  swells  with  happiness  at  the  thought  of  es- 
caping from  you,  good  bore;  you  shall  share  my  happi- 
ness, good  bore.  It  is  so  kind  of  you  not  to  bore  me  to  all 
eternity." 

This  was  why  the  last  night  she  sat  like  Patience  on  an 
ottoman  smiling  on  Talboys,  and  racking  David's  heart ; 
and  this  was  why  she  made  the  ride  so  pleasant  to  those  she 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         163 

was  at  heart  glad  to  leave,  till  they  tried  sentiment  on,  and 
then  she  was  an  eel  directly,  pony  and  all. 

Lucy  (sola).  "  That  is  over.  Poor  Mr.  Talboys !  Does 
he  fancy  he  has  an  attachment "?  No ;  I  please  and  I  am 
courted  wherever  I  go,  but  I  have  never  been  loved.  If  a 
man  loved  me  I  should  see  it  in  his  face,  I  should  feel  it 
without  a  word  spoken.  Once  or  twice  I  fancied  I  saw  it 
in  one  man's  eyes :  they  seemed  like  a  lion's  that  turned  to 
a  dove's  as  they  looked  at  me."  Lucy  closed  her  own  eyes 
and  recalled  her  impression  :  "  It  must  have  been  fancy. 
Ought  I  to  wish  to  inspire  such  a  passion  as  others  have  in- 
spired? No,  for  I  could  never  return  it.  The  very  lan- 
guage of  passion  in  romances  seems  so  extravagant  to  me, 
yet  so  beautiful.  It  is  hard  I  should  not  be  loved  merely 
because  I  can  not  love.  Many  such  natures  have  been 
adored.  I  could  not  bear  to  die  and  not  be  loved  as  deeply 
as  ever  woman  was  loved.  I  must  be  loved,  adored,  and 
worshiped :  it  would  be  so  sweet — sweet !"  She  slowly 
closed  her  eyes,  and  the  long  lovely  lashes  drooped,  and  a 
celestial  smile  parted  her  lips  as  she  fell  into  a  vague  deli- 
cious reverie.  Suddenly  the  carriage  stopped  at  the  foot  of 
a  hill.  She  opened  her  eyes,  and  there  stood  David  Dodd 
at  the  carriage  window. 

Lucy  put  her  head  out.  "Why,  it  is  Mr.  Dodd!  Oh! 
Mr.  Dodd,  is  there  any  thing  the  matter?" 

«  No." 

"  You  look  so  pale." 

"  Do  I  ?"  and  he  flushed  faintly. 

"  Which  way  are  you  going  1" 

"  I  am  going  home  again  now,"  said  David,  sorrowfully. 

"You  came  all  this  way  to  bid  me  good-by?"  and  she 
arched  her  eyebrows  and  laughed — a  little  uneasily. 

"  It  didn't  seem  a  step.     It  will  seem  longer  going  back." 

"  No,  no,  you  shall  ride  back.  My  pony  is  at  the  White 
Horse ;  will  you  not  ride  my  pony  back  for  me  ?  then  I  shall 
know  he  will  be  kindly  used ;  a  stranger  would  whip  him." 


164  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

• 

"  I  should  think  my  arm  would  wither  if  I  ill-used  him." 

"  You  are  very  good.  I  suppose  it  is  because  you  are  so 
brave." 

"  Me  brave  ?  I  don't  feel  so.  Am  I  to  tell  him  to  drive 
on?"  and  he  looked  at  her  with  haggard  and  imploring  eyes. 

Her  eyes  fell  before  his. 

"  Good-by,  then,"  said  she. 

He  cried  with  a  choking  voice  to  the  postillion,  "Go 
ahead." 

The  carriage  went  on  and  left  him  standing  in  the  road, 
his  head  upon  his  breast. 

At  the  steepest  part  of  the  hill  a  trace  broke,  and  the 
driver  drew  the  carriage  across  the  hill  and  shouted  to  Da- 
vid. He  came  running  up,  and  put  a  large  stone  behind 
each  wheel. 

Lucy  was  alarmed.     "  Mr.  Dodd !  let  me  out." 

He  handed  her  out.  The  post-boy  was  at  a  nonplus  ;  but 
David  whipped  a  piece  of  cord  and  a  knife  out  of  his  pock- 
et, and  began,  with  great  rapidity  and  dexterity,  to  splice 
the  trace. 

"  Ah !  now  you  are  pleased,  Mr.  Dodd ;  our  misfortune 
will  elicit  your  skill  in  emergencies." 

"  Oh  no,  it  isn't  that ;  it  is — I  never  hoped  to  see  you 
again  so  soon." 

Lucy  colored,  and  her  eyes  sought  the  ground :  the  splice 
was  soon  made. 

"  There !"  said  David ;  "  I  could  have  spent  an  hour  over 
it ;  but  you  would  have  been  vexed,  and  the  bitter  moment 
must  have  come  at  last." 

"  God  bless  you,  Miss  Fountain — oh !  mayn't  I  say  Miss 
Lucy  to-day?"  he  cried  imploringly. 

"  Of  course  you  may,"  said  Lucy,  the  tears  rising  in  her 
eyes  at  his  sad  face  and  beseeching  look.  "  Oh,  Mr.  Dodd, 
parting  with  those  we  esteem  is  always  sad  enough ;  I  got 
away  from  the  door  without  crying — for  once ;  don't  you 
make  me  cry." 


LOVE   MB   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  165 

"  Make  you  cry  t"  cried  David,  as  if  he  had  been  suspect- 
ed of  sacrilege ;  "  God  forbid !"  He  muttered  in  a  choking 
voice,  "You  give  the  word  of  command,  for  I  can't." 

"  You  can  go  on,"  said  her  soft,  clear  voice ;  but  first  she 
gave  David  her  hand  with  a  gentle  look — "  Good-by." 

But  David  could  not  speak  to  her.  He  held  her  hand 
tight  in  both  his  powerful  hands:  they  seemed  iron  to  her 
— shaking,  trembling,  grasping  iron.  The  carriage  went 
slowly  on,  and  drew  her  hand  away.  She  shrank  into  a 
corner  of  the  carriage  :  he  frightened  her. 

He  followed  the  carriage  to  the  brow  of  the  hill,  then  sat 
down  upon  a  heap  of  stones,  and  looked  despairingly  after  it. 

Meantime  Lucy  put  her  head  in  her  hands  and  blushed, 
though  she  was  all  alone.  "  How  dare  he  forget  the  dis- 
tance between  us?  Poor  fellow!  have  not  I  at  times  for- 
gotten it  1  I  am  worse  than  he.  I  lost  my  self-possession ; 
I  should  have  checked  his  folly ;  he  knows  nothing  of  les 
convenances.  He  has  hurt  my  hand,  he  is  so  rough ;  I  feel 
his  clutch  now ;  there,  I  thought  so,  it  it  all  red — poor  fel- 
low! Nonsense!  he  is  a  sailor;  he  knows  nothing  of  the 
world  and  its  customs.  Parting  with  a  pleasant  acquaint- 
ence  forever  made  him  a  little  sad. 

"  He  is  all  nature ;  he  is  like  nobody  else ;  he  shows  every 
feeling  instead  of  concealing  it,  that  is  all.  He  has  gone 
home,  I  hope."  She  glanced  hastily  back.  He  was  sitting 
on  the  stones,  his  arms  drooping,  his  head  bowed,  a  picture 
of  despondency.  She  put  her  face  in  her  hands  again  and 
pondered,  blushing  higher  and  higher.  Then  the  pale  face 
that  had  always  been  ruddy  before,  the  simple  grief  and  agi- 
tation, the  manly  eye  that  did  not  know  how  to  weep,  but 
was  so  clouded  and  troubled,  and  wildly  sad ;  the  shaking 
hands,  that  had  clutched  hers  like  a  drowning  man's  (she 
felt  them  still),  the  quivering  features,  choked  voice,  and 
trembling  lip,  all  these  recoiled  with  double  force  upon  her 
mind  :  they  touched  her  far  more  than  sobs  and  tears  would 
have  done,  her  sex's  ready  signs  of  shallow  grief. 


166  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   MfJ   LONG. 

Two  tears  stole  down  her  cheeks. 

"  If  he  would  but  go  home  and  forget  me !"  She  glanced 
hastily  back.  David  was  climbing  up  a  tree,  active  as  a 
cat.  "  He  is  like  nobody  else — he !  he !  Stay !  is  that  to 
see  the  last  of  me — the  very  last  ?  Poor  soul !  Madman, 
how  will  this  end?  What  can  come  of  it  but  misery  to 
him,  remorse  to  me? 

"  This  is  love."  She  half  closed  her  eyes  and  smiled,  re- 
peating, "  This  is  love. 

"  Oh !  how  I  despise  all  the  others  and  their  feeble  flat- 
teries ! 

"  Heaven  forgive  me  my  mad,  my  wicked  wish ! 

"  I  am  beloved. 

"  I  am  adored. 

"I  am  miserable!" 

As  soon  as  the  carriage  was  out  of  sight,  David  came 
down  and  hurried  from  the  place.  He  found  the  pony  at 
the  inn.  The  ostler  had  not  even  removed  his  saddle. 

"Methought  that  ostler  did  protest  too  much." 

David  kissed  the  saddle,  and  the  pommels,  and  the  bridle 
her  hand  had  held,  and  led  the  pony  out.  After  walking  a 
mile  or  two  he  mounted  the  pony,  to  sit  in  her  seat,  not  for 
ease.  Walking  thirty  miles  was  nothing  to  this  athlete ; 
sticking  on  and  holding  on  with  his  chin  on  his  knee  was 
rather  fatiguing. 

Meantime,  Eve  walked  on  till  she  was  four  miles  from 
home.  No  David.  She  sat  down  and  cried  a  little  space, 
then  on  again.  She  had  just  reached  an  angle  in  the  road, 
when — clatter,  clatter — David  came  cantering  round  with 
his  knee  in  his  mouth.  Eve  gave  a  joyful  scream,  and  up 
went  both  her  hands  with  sudden  delight.  At  the  double 
shock  to  his  senses  the  pony  thought  his  end  was  come,  and 
perhaps  the  world's.  He  shied  slap  into  the  hedge,  and  stuck 
there — alone;  for  his  rider  swaying  violently  the  reverse 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME   LONG.  1G7 

way,  the  girths  burst,  the  saddle  peeled  off  the  pony's  back, 
and  David  sat  griping  the  pommel  of  the  saddle  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  road  at  Eve's  feet,  looking  up  in  her  face  with  an 
uneasy  grin,  while  dust  rose  around  him  in  a  little  column. 
Eve  screeched,  and  screeched,  and  screeched ;  then  fell  to, 
with  a  face  as  red  as  a  turkey-cock's,  and  beat  David  furi- 
ously, and  hurt — her  little  hands. 

David  laughed.  This  incident  did  him  good — shook  him 
up  a  bit.  The  pony  groveled  out  of  the  ditch  and  cantered 
home,  squeaking  at  intervals  and  throwing  his  heels. 

David  got  up,  hoisted  the  side-saddle  on  to  his  square 
shoulders,  and  keeping  it  there  by  holding  the  girths,  walked 
with  Eve  toward  Font  Abbey.  She  was  now  a  little 
ashamed  of  her  apprehensions  ;  and,  besides,  when  she  leath- 
ered David,  she  was,  in  her  own  mind,  serving  him  out  for 
both  frights.  At  all  events,  she  did  not  scold  him,  but 
kindly  inquired  his  adventures,  and  he  told  her  what  he  had 
done  and  said,  and  what  Miss  Fountain  had  said. 

The  account  disappointed  Eve.  "  All  this  is  just  a  pack 
of  nothing,"  said  she.  "  It  is  two  lovers  parting,  or  it  is 
two  common  friendly  acquaintances ;  all  depends  on  how  it 
was  done,  and  that  you  don't  tell  me."  Then  she  put  sev- 
eral subtle  questions  as  to  the  looks,  and  tones,  and  manner 
of  the  young  lady.  David  could  not  answer  them.  On  this 
she  informed  him  he  was  a  fool. 

"  So  I  begin  to  think,"  said  he. 

"  There !  be  quiet,"  said  she,  ".and  let  me  think  it  over." 

"  Ay !  ay !"  said  he. 

While  he  was  being  quiet  and  letting  her  think,  a  car- 
riage came  rapidly  up  behind  them,  with  a  horseman  riding 
beside  it ;  and  as  the  pedestrians  drew  aside,  an  ironical 
voice  fell  upon  them,  and  the  carriage  and  horseman  stopped, 
and  floured  them  with  dust. 

Messrs.  Talboys  and  Fountain  took  a  stroll  to  look  at  the 
new  jail  that  was  building  in  Royston,  and  as  they  returned, 
Talboys,  whose  wounded  pride  had  now  fermented,  told  Mr. 


168         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Fountain  plainly  that  he  saw  nothing  for  it  but  to  withdraw 
his  pretensions  to  Miss  Fountain. 

"  My  own  feelings  are  not  sufficiently  engaged  for  me  to 
play  the  up-hill  game  of  overcoming  her  disinclination." 

"  Disinclination  ?  the  mere  shyness  of  a  modest  girl.  If 
she  was  to  be  '  won  unsought,'  she  would  not  be  worthy  to 
be  Mrs.  Talboys." 

"  Her  worth  is  indisputable,"  said  Mr.  Talboys,  "  but  that 
is  no  reason  why  I  should  force  upon  her  my  humble  claims." 

The  moment  his  friend's  pride  began  to  ape  humility, 
Fountain  saw  the  wound  it  had  received  was  incurable. 
He  sighed  and  was  silent.  Opposition  would  only  have  set 
fire  to  opposition. 

They  went  home  together  in  silence.  On  the  road  Tal- 
boys caught  sight  of  a  tall  gentleman  carrying  a  side-saddle, 
and  a  little  lady  walking  beside  him.  He  recognized  his 
bete  not)-  with  a  grim  smile.  Here  at  least  was  one  he  had 
defeated  and  banished  from  the  fair.  What  on  earth  was 
the  man  doing?  Oh,  he  had  been  giving  his  sister  a  ride 
on  a  donkey,  and  they  had  met  with  an  accident.  Mr. 
Talboys  was  in  a  humor  for  revenge,  so  he  pulled  up,  and 
in  a  somewhat  bantering  voice  inquired  where  was  the  steed. 

"  Oh,  he  is  in  port  by  now,"  said  David. 

"Do  you  usually  ease  the  animal  of  that  part  of  his  bur- 
den, sir?" 

"  No,"  said  David,  sullenly. 

Eve,  who  hated  Mr.  Talboys,  and  saw  through  his  sneers, 
bit  her  lip  and  colored,  but  kept  silence. 

But  Mr.  Talboys,  unwarned  by  her  flashing  eye,  proceed- 
ed with  his  ironical  interrogatory,  and  then  it  was  that  Eve, 
reflecting  that  both  these  gentlemen  had  done  their  worst 
against  David,  and  that  henceforth  the  battle-field  could 
never  again  be  Font  Abbey,  decided  for  revenge.  She 
stepped  forward  like  an  airy  sylph  between  David  and  his 
persecutor,  and  said,  with  a  charming  smile,  "  I  will  ex- 
plain, sir." 

Mr.  Talboys  bowed  and  smiled. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  169 

"  The  reason  my  brother  carries  this  side-saddle  is  that  it 
belongs  to  a  charming  young  lady — you  have  some  little 
acquaintance  with  her — Miss  Fountain." 

"Miss  Fountain?"  cried  Talboys,  in  a  tone  from  which 
all  the  irony  was  driven  out  by  Eve's  coup. 

"  She  begged  David  to  ride  her  pony  home ;  she  would 
not  trust  him  to  any  body  else." 

"  Oh !"  said  Talboys,  stupefied. 

"  Well,  sir,  owing  to — to — an  accident,  the  saddle  came 
off,  and  the  pony  ran  home ;  so  then  David  had  only  her 
saddle  to  take  care  of  for  her." 

"  Why,  we  escorted  Miss  Fountain  to  Eoyston,  and  we 
never  saw  Mr.  Dodd." 

"Ay,  but  you  did  not  go  beyond  Royston,"  said  Eve, 
with  a  cunning  air. 

"  Beyond  Royston?  where t  and  what  was  he  doing  there? 
Did  he  go  all  that  way  to  take  her  orders  about  her  pony?" 
said  Talboys,  bitterly. 

"  Oh,  as  to  that,  you  must  excuse  me,  sir,"  cried  Eve, 
with  a  scornful  laugh ;  "  that  is  being  too  inquisitive  :  good 
morning ;"  and  she  carried  David  off  in  triumph. 

The  next  moment  Mr.  Talboys  spurred  on,  followed  by 
the  phaeton.  Talboys'  face  was  yellow. 

"La  langue'cCune  femme  est  son  epee" 

"  Sheer  off  and  repair  damages,  you  lubber,"  said  David, 
dryly,  "and  don't  come  under  our  guns  again,  or  we  shall 
blow  you  out  of  the  water.  Hum !  Eve,  wasn't  your  tongue 
a  little  too  long  for  your  teeth  just  now?" 

"Not  an  inch." 

"  She  might  be  vexed ;  it  is  not  for  me  to  boast  of  her 
kindness." 

"  Temper  won't  let  a  body  see  every  thing.  I'll  tell  you 
what  I  have  done,  too— I've  declared  war." 

"  Have  you  ?  Then  run  the  Jack  up  to  the  mizen-top, 
and  let  us  fight  it  out." 

"  That  is  the  way  to  look  at  it,  David.  Now  don't  you 
speak  to  me  till  we  get  home :  let  me  think." 

H 


170  LOVE    ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

At  the  gate  of  Font  Abbey  they  parted,  and  Eve  went 
home.  David  came  to  the  stable-yard,  and  hailed,  "  Stable 
ahoy !"  Out  ran  a  little  bandy-legged  groom.  "  The  craft 
has  gone  adrift,"  cried  David,  "  but  I've  got  the  gear  safe : 
stow  it  away ;"  and  as  he  spoke  he  chucked  the  saddle  a 
distance  of  some  six  yards  on  to  the  bandy-legged  groom, 
who  instantly  staggered  back  and  sank  on  a  little  dunghill, 
and  there  sat,  saddled,  with  two  eyes  like  saucers,  looking 
stupefied  surprise  between  the  pommels. 

"  It  is  you  for  capsizing  in  a  calm,"  remarked  David,  with 
some  surprise,  and  went  his  way. 

"  Well,  Eve,  have  you  thought  1" 

"  Yes,  David,  I  was  a  little  hasty ;  that  puppy  would 
provoke  a  saint.  After  all  there  is  no  harm  done ;  they 
can't  hurt  us  much  now.  It  is  not  here  the  game  will  be 
played  out.  Now  tell  me,  when  does  your  ship  sail  1" 

"  It  wants  just  five  weeks  to  a  day." 

"Does  she  take  up  her  passengers  at as  usual." 

"Yes,  Eve,  yes." 

"  And  Mrs.  Bazalgette  lives  within  a  mile  or  two  of 
.  You  have  a  good  excuse  for  accepting  her  invita- 
tion. Stay  your  last  week  in  her  house.  There  will  be  no 
Talboys  to  come  between  you.  Do  all  a  man  can  do  to  win 
her  in  that  week." 

"I  will." 

"  And  if  she  says '  No,'  be  man  enough  to  tear  her  out  of 
your  heart." 

"  I  can't  tear  her  out  of  my  heart,  but  I  will  win  her.  I 
must  win  her.  I  can't  live  without  her.  A  month  to 
wait!" 

Mr.  Talboys.  "Well,  sir,  what  do  you  say  now?" 

Mr.  Fountain  (hypocritically).   "  I  say  that  your  sagacity 

was  superior  to  mine ;  forgive  me  if  I  have  brought  you 

into  a  mortifying  collision.     To  be  defeated  by  a  merchant 

sailor !"     He  paused  to  see  the  effect  of  his  poisoned  shaft. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  171 

Talboys.  "But  I  am  not  defeated.  I  will  not  be  defeat- 
ed. It  is  no  longer  a  personal  question.  For  your  sake, 
for  her  sake,  I  must  save  her  from  a  degrading  connection. 
I  will  accompany  you  to  Mrs.  Bazalgette's.  When  shall 
we  go  ?" 

"Well,  not  immediately;  it  would  look  so  odd.  The 
old  one  would  smell  a  rat  directly.  Suppose  we  say  in  a 
month's  time." 

"  Very  well ;  I  shall  have  a  clear  stage." 

"Yes,  and  I  shall  then  use  all  my  influence  with  her. 
Hitherto  I  have  used  none." 

"  Thank  you.  Mr.  Dodd  can  not  penetrate  there,  I  con- 
clude." 

"  Of  course  not." 

"  Then  she  will  be  Mrs.  Talboys." 

"  Of  course  she  will." 

Lucy  sighed  a  little  over  David's  ardent,  despairing  pas- 
sion, and  his  pale  and  drawn  face.  Her  woman's  instinct 
enabled  her  to  comprehend  in  part  a  passion  she  was  at  this 
period  of  her  life  incapable  of  feeling,  and  she  pitied  him. 
He  was  the  first  of  her  admirers  she  had  ever  pitied.  She 
sighed  a  little,  then  fretted  a  little,  then  reproached  herself 
vaguely.  "  I  must  have  been  guilty  of  some  imprudence — 
given  some  encouragement.  Have  I  failed  in  womanly  re- 
serve, or  is  it  all  his  fault"?  He  is  a  sailor.  Sailors  are 
like  nobody  else.  He  is  so  simple-minded.  He  sees,  no 
doubt,  that  he  is  my  superior  in  all  sterling  qualities,  and 
that  makes  him  forget  the  social  distance  between  him  and 
me.  And  yet  why  suspect  him  of  audacity  ?  Poor  fellow, 
he  had  not  the  courage  to  say  any  thing  to  me,  after  all. 
No ;  he  will  go  to  sea,  and  forget  his  folly  before  he  comes 
back."  Then  she  had  a  gust  of  egotism.  It  was  nice  to 
be  loved  ardently  and  by  a  hero,  even  though  that  hero  was 
not  a  gentleman  of  distinction,  scarcely  a  gentleman  at  all. 
The  next  moment  she  blushed  at  her  own  vanity.  Next 
she  was  seized  with  a  sense  of  the  great  indelicacy  and  un- 


172         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

pardonable  impropriety  of  letting  her  mind  run  at  all  upon 
a  person  of  the  other  sex ;  and  shaking  her  lovely  shoulders, 
as  much  as  to  say,  "  Away,  idle  thoughts,"  she  nestled  and 
fitted  with  marvelous  suppleness  into  a  corner  of  the  car- 
riage, and  sank  into  a  sweet  sleep,  with  a  red  cheek,  two 
wet  eyelashes,  and  a  half  smile  of  the  most  heavenly  char- 
acter imaginable.  And  so  she  glided  along  till,  at  five  in 
the  afternoon,  the  carriage  turned  in  at  Mr.  Bazalgette's 
gates.  Lucy  lifted  her  eyes,  and  there  was  quite  a  little 
group  standing  on  the  steps  to  receive  her,  and  waving  wel- 
come to  the  universal  pet.  There  was  Mr.  Bazalgette,  Mrs. 
Bazalgette,  and  two  servants,  and  a  little  in  the  rear  a  tall 
stranger  of  gentleman-like  appearance. 

The  two  ladies  embraced  one  another  so  rapidly  yet  so 
smoothly,  and  so  dovetailed  and  blended,  that  they  might 
be  said  to  flow  together,  and  make  one  in  all  but  color,  like 
the  Saone  and  the  Rhone.  After  half  a  dozen  kisses  given 
and  returned  with  a  spirit  and  rapidity  from  which,  if  we 
male  spectators  of  these  ardent  encounters  were  wise,  we 
might  slyly  learn  a  lesson,  Aunt  Bazalgette  suddenly  dart- 
ed her  mouth  at  Lucy's  ear,  and  whispered  a  few  words 
with  an  animation  that  struck  every  body  present.  Lucy 
smiled  in  reply.  After  "  the  meeting  of  the  muslins,"  Mr. 
Bazalgette  shook  hands  warmly,  and  at  last  Lucy  was  in- 
troduced to  his  friend  Mr.  Hardie,  who  expressed  in  courte- 
ous terms  his  hopes  that  her  journey  had  been  a  pleasant 
one. 

The  animated  words  Mrs.  Bazalgette  whispered  into 
Lucy's  ear  at  that  moment  of  burning  affection  were  as 
follows : 

"  You  have  had  it  washed !" 

Lucy  (unpacking  her  things  in  her  bed-room).  "  Who  is 
Mr.  Hardie,  dear  ?" 

"What!  don't  you  know?  Mr.  Hardie  is  the  great 
banker." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         173 

"  Only  a  banker  1  I  should  have  taken  him  for  something 
far  more  distinguished.  His  manner  is  good.  There  is  a 
suavity  without  feebleness  or  smallness." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette's  eye  flashed,  but  she  answered  with  ap- 
parent nonchalance,  "  I  am  glad  you  like  him ;  you  will 
take  him  off  my  hands  now  and  then.  He  must  not  be 
neglected ;  Bazalgette  would  murder  us.  Apropos,  remind 
me  to  ask  him  to  tell  you  Mr.  Hardie's  story,  and  how  he 
comes  to  be  looked  up  to  like  a  prince  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  though  he  is  only  a  banker,  with  only  ten  thousand 
a  year." 

"  You  make  me  quite  curious,  aunt.  Can  not  you  tell 
me?" 

"  Me "?  oh  dear,  no !  paper  currency !  foreign  loans !  gov- 
ernment securities !  gold  mines !  ten  per  cents. !  Mr.  Peel ! 
and  why  one  breaks  and  another  doesn't!  all  that  is  quite 
beyond  me.  Bazalgette  is  your  man.  I  had  no  idea  your 
mousseline  de  laine  would  have  washed  so  well.  Why,  it 
looks  just  out  of  the  shop  ;  it — "  Come  away  reader,  for 
Heaven's  sake ! 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  man  whom  Mr.  Bazalgette  introduced  so  smoothly 
and  off-hand  to  Lucy  Fountain  exercised  a  terrible  influence 
over  her  life,  as  you  will  see  by-and-by.  This  alone  would 
make  it  proper  to  lay  his  antecedents  before  the  reader. 
But  he  has  independent  claims  to  this  notice,  for  he  is  a 
principle  figure  in  my  work.  The  history  of  this  remark- 
able man's  fortunes  is  a  study.  The  progress  of  his  mind  is 
another,  and  its  past  as  well  as  its  future  are  the  very  cor- 
ner-stone of  that  capacious  story  which  I  am  now  building 
brick  by  brick,  after  my  fashion  where  the  theme  is  large. 
I  invite  my  reader,  therefore,  to  resist  the  natural  repug- 
nance which  delicate  minds  feel  to  the  ring  of  the  precious 


174  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

metals,  and  for  the  sake  of  the  coming  story  to  accompany 
me  into 

AN  OLD  BANK. 

The  Hardies  were  goldsmiths  in  the  seventeenth  century ; 
and  when  that  business  split,  and  the  deposit  and  bill  of 
exchange  business  went  one  way,  and  the  plate  and  jewels 
another,  they  became  bankers  from  father  to  son.  A  pecul- 
iarity attended  them ;  they  never  broke,  nor  even  cracked. 
Jew  James  Hardie  conducted  for  many  years  a  smooth,  un- 
ostentatious, and  lucrative  business.  It  professed  to  be  a 
bank  of  deposit  only,  and  not  of  discount.  This  was  not 
strictly  true.  There  never  was  a  bank  in  creation  that  did 
not  discount  under  the  rose,  when  the  paper  represented 
commercial  effects,  and  the  endorsers  were  customers  and 
favorites.  But  Mr.  Hardie's  main  business  was  in  deposits 
bearing  no  interest.  It  was  of  that  nature  known  as  "the 
legitimate  banking  business,"  a  title  not,  I  think,  invented 
by  the  customers,  since  it  is  a  system  destitute  of  that  re- 
ciprocity which  is  the  soul  of  all  just  and  legitimate  com- 
mercial relations. 

You  shall  lend  me  your  money  gratis  and  I  will  lend  it 
out  at  interest :  such  is  legitimate  banking — in  the  opinion 
of  bankers. 

This  system,  whose  decay  we  have  seen  and  whose  death 
my  young  readers  are  like  to  see,  flourished  under  old  Har- 
die, green — as  the  public  in  whose  pockets  its  roots  were 
buried. 

Country  gentlemen  and  noblemen,  and  tradesmen  well  to 
do,  left  floating  balances  varying  from  seven,  five,  three 
thousand  pounds,  down  to  a  hundred  or  two,  in  his  hands. 
His  art  consisted  in  keeping  his  countenance,  receiving  them 
with  the  air  of  a  person  conferring  a  favor,  and  investing  the 
bulk  of  them  in  government  securities,  which  in  that  day 
returned  four  and  five  per  cent.  As  he  did  not  pay  one 
shilling  for  the  use  of  the  capital,  he  pocketed  the  whole 
interest.  A  small  part  of  the  aggregate  balance  was  not 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  175 

invested,  but  remained  in  the  bank  coffers  as  a  reserve  to 
meet  any  accidental  drain.  It  was  a  point  of  honor  with 
the  squires  and  rectors,  who  shared  their  incomes  with  him 
in  a  grateful  spirit,  never  to  draw  their  balances  down  too 
low ;  and  more  than  once  in  this  banker's  career  a  gentle- 
man has  actually  borrowed  money  for  a  month  or  two  of 
the  bank  at  four  per  cent,  rather  than  exhaust  his  deposit, 
or,  in  other  words,  paid  his  debtor  interest  for  the  temporary 
use  of  his  own  everlasting  property.  Such  capitalists  are 
not  to  be  found  in  our  day :  they  may  reappear  at  the 
Millennium. 

The  banker  had  three  clerks ;  one  a  youth  and  very  sub- 
ordinate, the  other  two  steady  old  men,  at  good  salaries,  who 
knew  the  affairs  of  the  bank,  but  did  not  chatter  them  out 
of  doors,  because  they  were  allowed  to  talk  about  them  to 
their  employer ;  and  this  was  a  vent.  The  tongue  must 
have  a  regular  vent  or  random  explosions — choose !  Be- 
sides the  above  compliment  paid  to  years  of  probity  and  ex- 
perience, the  ancient  regime  bound  these  men  to  the  inter- 
est and  person  of  their  chief  by  other  simple  customs  now 
no  more. 

At  each,  of  the  four  great  festivals  of  the  Church  they 
dined  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hardie,  and  were  feasted  and  cor- 
dially addressed  as  equals,  though  they  could  not  be  got  to 
reply  in  quite  the  same  tone.  They  were  never  scorned, 
but  a  peculiar  warmth  of  esteem  and  friendship  was  shown 
them  on  these  occasions.  One  reason  was,  the  old-fangled 
banker  himself  aspired  to  no  higher  character  than  that  of 
a  man  of  business,  and  were  not  these  clerks  men  of  busi- 
ness good  and  true  ?  his  staff,  not  his  menials  ? 

And  since  I  sneered  just  now  at  avital  simplicity,  let  me 
hasten  to  own  that  here,  at  least,  it  was  wise,  as  well  as  just 
and  worthy.  Where  men  are  forever  handling  heaps  of 
money,  it  is  prudent  to  fortify  them  doubly  against  tempta- 
tion— with  self-respect,  and  a  sufficient  salary. 

It  is  one  thing  not  to  be  led  into  temptation  (accident  on 
which  half  the  virtue  in  the  world  depends),  another  to  live 


176  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

in  it  and  overcome  it;  and  in  a  bank  it  is  not  the  con- 
science only  that  is  tempted,  but  the  senses.  Piles  of  glit- 
tering gold,  amiable  as  Hesperian  fruit ;  heaps  of  silver  pa- 
per, that  seem  to  whisper  as  they  rustle,  "  Think  how  great 
we  are,  yet  see  how  little ;  we  are  fifteen  thousand  pounds, 
yet  we  can  go  into  your  pocket ;  whip  us  up,  and  westward 
ho !  If  you  have  not  courage  for  that,  at  all  events  wet 
your  finger :  a  dozen  of  us  will  stick  to  it.  That  pen  in 
your  hand  has  but  to  scratch  that  book  there,  and  who  will 
know?  Besides,  you  can  always  put  us  back  you  know." 

Hundreds  and  thousands  of  men  take  a  share  in  the  coun- 
try's public  morality,  legislate,  build  churches,  and  live  and 
die  respectable,  who  would  be  jail-birds  sooner  or  later  if 
their  sole  income  was  the  pay  of  a  banker's  clerk,  and  their 
eyes,  and  hands,  and  souls  rubbed  daily  against  hundred- 
pound  notes  as  his  do.  I  tell  you  it  is  a  temptation  of  for- 
ty-devil power. 

Not  without  reason,  then,  did  this  ancient  banker  bestow 
gome  respect  and  friendship  on  those  who,  tempted  daily, 
brought  their  hands  pure,  Christmas  after  Christmas,  to 
their  master's  table.  Not  without  reason  did  Mrs.  Hardie 
pet  them  like  princes  at  the  great  festivals,  and  always  send 
them  home  in  the  carriage  as  persons  their  entertainers  de- 
lighted to  honor.  Herein  I  suspect  she  looked  also,  woman- 
like, to  their  security ;  for  they  were  always  expected"  to  be 
solemnly,  not  improperly,  intoxicated  by  the  end  of  supper ; 
nowise  fuddled,  but  muddled  ;  for  the  graceful  superstition 
of  the  day  suspected  severe  sobriety  at  solemnities  as  churl- 
ish and  ungracious. 

The  bank  itself  was  small  and  grave,  and  a  trifle  dingy, 
and  bustle  there  was  none  in  it ;  but  if  the  stream  of  busi- 
ness looked  sluggish  and  narrow,  it  was  deep  and  quietly 
incessant,  and  tended  all  one  way — to  enrich  the  proprietor 
without  a  farthing  risked. 

Old  Hardie  had  sat  there  forty  years  with  other  people's 
money  overflowing  into  his  lap  as  it  rolled  deep  and  steady 
through  that  little  counting-house,  when  there  occurred,  or 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  177 

rather  recurred,  a  certain  phenomenon,  which  comes,  with 
some  little  change  of  features,  in  a  certain  cycle  of  commer- 
cial changes  as  regularly  as  the  month  of  March  in  the  year, 
or  the  neap-tides,  or  the  harvest-moon,  but,  strange  to  say, 
at  each  visit  takes  the  country  by  surprise. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE  nation  had  passed  through  the  years  of  exhaustion 
and  depression  that  follow  a  long  war ;  its  health  had  re- 
turned, and  its  elastic  vigor  was  already  reviving,  when  two 
remarkable  harvests  in  succession,  and  an  increased  trade 
with  the  American  continent,  raised  it  to  prosperity.  One 
sign  of  vigor,  the  roll  of  capital,  was  wanting ;  speculation 
was  fast  asleep.  The  government  of  the  day  seems  to  have 
observed  this  with  regret.  A  writer  of  authority  on  the 
subject  says  that,  to  stir  stagnant  enterprise,  they  directed 
"  the  Bank  of  England  to  issue  about  four  millions  in  ad- 
vances to  the  state  and  in  enlarged  discounts."  I  give  you 
the  man's  words:  they  doubtless  carry  a  signification  to 
you,  though  they  are  jargon  in  a  fog  to  me.  Some  months 
later  the  government  took  a  step  upon  very  different  mo- 
tives, which  incidentally  had  a  powerful  effect  in  loosening 
capital  and  setting  it  in  agitation.  They  reduced  to  four 
per  cent,  the  Navy  Five  per  Cents.,  a  favorite  national  in- 
vestment, which  represented  a  capital  of  two  hundred  mil- 
lions. Now,  when  men  have  got  used  to  five  per  cent,  from 
a  certain  quarter,  they  can  not  be  content  with  four,  par- 
ticularly the  small  holders ;  so  this  reduction  of  the  Navy 
Five  per  Cents,  unsettled  several  thousand  capitalists,  and 
disposed  them  to  search  for  an  investment.  A  flattering 
one  offered  itself  in  the  nick  of  time.  Considerable  at- 
tention had  been  drawn  of  late  to  the  mineral  wealth  of 
South  America,  and  one  or  two  mining  companies  existed, 
but  languished,  in  the  hands  of  professed  speculators.  The 
public  now  broke  like  a  sudden  flood  into  these  hitherto 
H2 


178         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

sluggish  channels  of  enterprise,  and  up  went  the  shares  to 
a  high  premium.  Almost  contemporaneously,  numerous 
joint-stock  companies  were  formed,  and  directed  toward 
schemes  of  internal  industry.  The  small  capitalists  that 
had  sold  out  of  the  Navy  Five  per  Cents,  threw  themselves 
into  them  all,  and,  being  bona  fide  speculators,  drew  hund- 
reds in  their  train.  Adventure,  however,  was  at  first  re- 
strained in  some  degree  by  the  state  of  the  currency.  It 
was  low,  and  rested  on  a  singularly  sound  basis.  Mr.  Peel's 
Currency  Bill  had  been  some  months  in  operation :  by  its 
principal  provision  the  Bank  of  England  was  compelled  on 
and  after  a  certain  date  to  pay  gold  for  its  notes  on  demand. 
The  bank,  anticipating  a  consequent  rush  for  gold,  had  col- 
lected vast  quantities  of  sovereigns,  the  new  coin  ;  but  the 
rush  never  came,  for  a  mighty  simple  reason.  Gold  is  con- 
venient in  small  sums,  but  a  burden  and  a  nuisance  in  large 
ones.  It  betrays  its  presence  and  invites  robbers ;  it  is  a 
bore  to  lug  it  about,  and  a  fearful  waste  of  golden  time  to 
count  it.  Men  run  upon  gold  only  when  they  have  rea- 
son to  distrust  paper.  But  Mr.  Peel's  Bill,  instead  of  dam- 
aging Bank  of  England  paper,  solidified  it,  and  gave  the  na- 
tion a  just  and  novel  confidence  in  it.  Thus,  then,  the  large 
hoard  of  gold,  fourteen  to  twenty  millions,  that  the  caution 
of  the  bank  directors  had  accumulated  in  their  coffers,  re- 
mained uncalled  for.  But  so  large  an  abstraction  from  the 
specie  of  the  realm  contracted  the  provincial  circulation. 
The  small  business  of  the  country  moved  in  fetters,  so  low 
was  the  metal  currency.  The  country  bankers  petitioned 
government  for  relief,  and  government,  listening  to  represent- 
ations that  were  no  doubt  supported  by  facts,  and  backed 
by  other  interests,  tampered  with  the  principle  of  Mr.  Peel's 
Bill,  and  allowed  the  country  bankers  to  issue  £l  and  £2 
notes  for  eleven  years  to  come.  To  this  step  there  were  but 
six  dissentients  in  the  House  of  Commons,  so  little  was  its 
importance  seen  or  its  consequence  foreseen.  This  piece  of 
inconsistent  legislation  removed  one  restraint,  irksome  but 
salutary,  from  commercial  enterprise  at  a  moment  when 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  179 

capital  was  showing  some  signs  of  a  feverish  agitation.  Its 
immediate  consequences  were  very  encouraging  to  the  legis- 
lator;  the  country  bankers  sowed  the  land  broadcast  with 
their  small  paper,  and  this,  for  the  cause  above  adverted  to, 
took  pro  tern,  the  place  of  gold,  and  was  seldom  cashed  at 
all  except  where  silver  was  wanted.  On  this  enlargement 
of  the  currency  the  arms  of  the  nation  seemed  freed,  enter- 
prise shot  ahead  unshackled,  and  unwonted  energy  and  ac- 
tivity thrilled  in  the  veins  of  the  kingdom.  The  rise  in  the 
prices  of  all  commodities  which  followed,  inevitable  conse- 
quence of  every  increase  in  the  currency,  whether  real  or 
fictitious,  was  in  itself  adverse  to  the  working  classes ;  but 
the  vast  and  numerous  enterprises  that  were  undertaken, 
some  in  the  country  itself,  some  in  foreign  parts,  to  which 
English  workmen  we.re  conveyed,  raised  the  price  of  labor 
higher  still  in  proportion  ;  so  no  class  was  out  of  the  sun. 

Men's  faces  shone  with  excitement  and  hope.  The  dor- 
mant hoards  of  misers  crept  out  of  their  napkins  and  sepul- 
chral strong-boxes  into  the  warm  air  of  the  golden  time. 
The  mason's  chisel  chirped  all  over  the  kingdom,  and  the 
ship-builders'*  hammers  rang  all  round  the  coast ;  corn  was 
plenty,  money  became  a  drug,  labor  wealth,  and  poverty  and 
discontent  vanished  from  the  face  of  the  land.  Adventure 
seemed  all  wings,  and  no  lumbering  carcass  to  clog  it.  New 
joint-stock  companies  were  started  in  crowds  as  larks  rise 
and  darken  the  air  in  winter  ;f  hundreds  came  to  nothing, 
but  hundreds  stood,  and  of  these  nearly  all  reached  a  pre- 
mium, small  in  some  cases,  high  in  most,  fabulous  in  some ; 
and  the  ease  with  which  the  first  calls  for  cash  on  the  mul- 
titudinous shares  were  met,  argued  the  vast  resources  that 
had  hitherto  slumbered  in  the  nation  for  want  of  promising 
investments  suited  to  the  variety  of  human  likings  and  judg- 
ments. 

The  mind  can  hardly  conceive  any  species  of  earthly  en- 

*  Two  hundred  new  vessels  are  said  to  have  been  laid  on  the  stocks 
in  one  year. 

t  In  two  years  624  new  companies  were  projected. 


180  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

terprise  that  was  not  fitted  with  a  company,  oftener  with  a 
dozen,  and  with  fifty  or  sixty  where  the  proposed  road  to 
metal  was  direct.  Of  these  the  mines  of  Mexico  still  kept 
the  front  rank,  but  not  to  the  exclusion  of  European,  Aus- 
tralian, and  African  ore. 

That  master-piece  of  fiction,  "  the  Prospectus,"*  diffused 

*  There  is  a  little  unlicked  anonymuncule  going  scribbling  about, 
whose  creed  seems  to  be  that  a  little  camel,  to  be  known,  must  be 
examined  and  compared  with  other  quadrupeds,  but  that  the  great 
arts  can  be  judged  out  of  the  depths  of  a  penny-a-liner's  inner  con- 
sciousness, and  to  be  rated  and  ranked  need  not  be  compared  inter  se. 
Applying  the  microscope  to  the  method  of  the  novelist,  but  diverting 
the  glass  from  the  learned  judge's  method  in  Biography,  the  learned 
historian's  method  in  History,  and  the  daily  chronicler's  method  in 
dressing  res  gestce  for  a  journal,  this  little  addle-pate  has  jumped  to 
a  comparative  estimate,  not  based  on  comparison,  so  that  all  his  blind- 
fold vituperation  of  a  noble  art  is  chimera,  not  reasoning ;  it  is,  in 
fact,  a  retrograde  step  in  science  and  logic.  This  is  to  evade  the 
Baconian  method,  humble  and  vise,  and  crawl  back  to  the  lazy  and 
self-confident  system  of  the  ancients,  that  kept  the  world  dark  so 
many  centuries.  It  is  Kt^aXo/iavma  versus  Induction.  "Kt^aXo- 
pavTiia,"  ladies,  is  "divination  by  means  of  an  ass's  skull."  A  pet- 
tifogger's skull,  however,  will  serve  the  turn,  provided  that  pettifog- 
ger has  been  bitten  with  an  insane  itch  for  scribbling  about  things  so 
infinitely  above  his  capacity  as  the  fine  arts.  Avoid  this  sordid 
dreamer,  and  follow,  in  letters  as  in  science,  the  Baconian  method ! 
Then  you  will  find  that  all  uninspired  narratives  are  more  or  less  in- 
exact, and  that  one,  and  one  only,  Fiction  proper,  has  the  honesty 
to  antidote  its  errors  by  professing  inexactitude.  You  will  find  that 
the  Historian,  Biographer,  Novelist,  and  Chronicler  are  all  obliged 
to  paint  vpon  their  data  with  colors  the  imagination  alone  can  supply, 
and  all  do  it — alive  or  dead.  You  will  find  that  Fiction,  as  distin- 
guished from  neat  mendacity,  has  not  one  form  upon  earth,  but  a 
dozen.  You  will  find  the  most  habitually,  willfully,  and  inexcusably 
inaccurate,  with  the  means  of  accuracy  under  its  nose,  that  form  of 
fiction  called  "  anonymous  criticism,"  political  and  literary :  the  most 
equivocating,  perhaps,  is  the  "imaginavit,"  better  known  at  Lincoln's 
Inn  as  the  "affidavit."  In  the  article  of  exaggeration,  the  mildest 
and  tamest  are  perhaps  History  and  the  Novel,  the  boldest  and  most 
sparkling  is  the  Advertisement,  but  the  grandest,  ablest,  most  gor- 
geous, and  plausibly  exaggerating  is  surely  the  grave  commercial 
prospectus,  drawn  up  and  signed  by  potent,  grave,  and  reverend  sen- 
iors, who  fear  God,  worship  Mammon,  revere  big  wigs  right  or  wrong, 
and  never  read  romances. 


LOVE    ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  181 

its  gorgeous  light  far  and  near,  lit  up  the  dark  mine,  and 
showed  the  minerals  shining  and  the  jewels  peeping;  shone 
broad  over  the  smiling  fields,  soon  to  he  plowed,  reaped,  and 
mowed  by  machinery  ;  and  even  illumined  the  depths  of  the 
sea,  whence  the  buried  treasures  of  ancient  and  modern 
times  were  about  to  be  recovered  by  the  Diving-bell  Com- 
pany. 

One  mine  was  announced  with  a  "  vein  of  ore  as  pure 
and  solid  as  a  tin  flagon." 

In  another  the  prospectus  offered  mixed  advantages. 
The  ore  lay  in  so  romantic  a  situation,  and  so  thick,  that 
the  eye  could  be  regaled  with  a  heavenly  landscape,  while 
the  foot  struck  against  neglected  lumps  of  gold  weighing 
from  two  pounds  to  fifty. 

This  put  the  Bolanos  mine  on  its  mettle,  and  it  an- 
nounced "not  mines,  but  mountains  of  silver."  Here,  then, 
men  might  chip  metal  instead  of  painfully  digging  it.  With 
this,  up  went  the  shares  till  they  reached  500  premium. 

Tlalpuxahua  was  done  at  199  premium. 

Anglo  Mexican      £10  paid,  went  to  £158  premium. 

United  Mexican        10  "  155         " 

Colombian  10  «  82         " 

But  the  Eeal  del  Monte,  a  mine  of  longer  standing,  on 
which  £70  was  paid  up,  went  to  550  prem.,  and  at  a  later 
period,  for  I  am  not  following  the  actual  sequence  of  events, 
reached  the  enormous  height  of  1350  premium. 

The  Prospectus  of  the  Equitable  Loan  Company  lament- 
ed in  paragraph  one  the  imposition  practiced  on  the  poor, 
and  denounced  the  pawnbrokers'  15  per  cent.  In  para- 
graph four  it  promised  40  per  cent  to  its  shareholders. 

Philanthropy  smiled  in  the  heading,  and  Avarice  stung 
in  the  tail.  No  wonder  a  royal  duke  and  other  good  names 
figured  in  this  concern.  Another  eloquent  sheet  appealed 
to  the  national  dignity.  Should  a  nation  that  was  just 
now  being  intersected  by  forty  canal  companies,  and  lighted 
by  thirty  gas. companies,  and  every  life  in  it  worth  a  button 
insured  by  a  score  of  insurance  companies,  dwell  in  hovels  ? 


182  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

Here  was  a  country  that,  after  long  ruling  the  sea,  was  now 
mining  the  earth,  and  employing  her  spoils  nobly,  lending 
money  to  every  nation  and  tribe  that  would  fight  for  con- 
stitutional liberty.  Should  the  principal  city  of  so  sover- 
eign a  nation  be  a  collection  of  dingy  dwellings  made  with 
burnt  clay?  No;  let  these  perishable  and  ignoble  materi- 
als give  way,  and  London  be  granite,  or  at  least  wear  a 
granite  front — with  which  up  went  the  Red  Granite  Com- 
pany. 

A  railway  was  projected  from  Dover  to  Calais,  but  the 
shares  never  came  into  the  market. 

The  Rhine  Navigation  shares  were  snapped  up  directly. 
The  original  holders,  having  no  faith  in  their  own  paper, 
sold  large  quantities  directly  for  the  account.  But  they 
had  underrated  the  ardor  of  the  public.  At  settling  day 
the  shares  were  at  28  premium,  and  the  sellers  found  they 
had  made  a  most  original  hedge ;  for  "  the  hedge"  is  not  a 
daring  operation  that  grasps  at  large  gains :  it  is  a  timid 
and  cautious  manoeuvre,  whose  humble  aim  is  to  lower  the 
figures  of  possible  loss  or  gain.  To  be  ruined  by  a  stroke 
of  caution  so  shocked  the  directors'  sense  of  justice  that  they 
forged  new  coupons  in  imitation  of  the  old,  and  tried  to  pass 
them  off.  The  fraud  was  discovered ;  a  committee  sat  on 
it.  Respectables  quaked.  Finally,  a  scape-goat  was  put 
forward  and  expelled  the  Stock  Exchange,  and  with  that 
the  inquiry  was  hushed.  It  would  have  let  too  much  day- 
light in  on  a  host  of "  good  names"  in  the  City  and  on 
'Change. 

At  the  same  time,  the  country  threw  itself  with  ardor 
into  transatlantic  loans.  This,  however,  was  an  existing 
speculation  vastly  dilated  at  the  period  we  are  treating,  but 
created  about  five  years  earlier.  Its  antecedent  history  can 
be  dispatched  in  a  few  words. 

England  is  said  to  be  governed  by  a  limited  monarchy ; 
but  in  case  of  a  struggle  between  the  two,  her  heart  goes 
more  with  unlimited  republic  than  with  genuine  monarchy. 
The  Spanish  colonies  in  South  America  found  this  out,  and 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         183 

in  their  long  battle  for  independence  came  to  us  for  sympa- 
thy and  cash.  They  often  obtained  both,  and  in  one  case 
something  more :  we  lent  Chili  a  million  at  six  per  cent., 
but  we  lent  her  ships,  bayonets,  and  Cochrane  gratis.  This 
last,  a  gallant  and  amphibious  dragoon,  went  to  work  in  a 
style  the  slow  Spaniard  was  unprepared  for :  blockaded  the 
coast,  overawed  the  Royalist  party,  and  wrenched  the  state 
from  the  mother  country,  and  settled  it  a  republic.  One  of 
the  first  public  acts  of  this  Chilian  republic  was  to  borrow  a 
million  of  us  to  go  on  with.  Peru  took  only  half  a  million 
at  this  period.  Colombia,  during  the  protracted  struggle 
her  independence  cost  her,  obtained  a  sort  of  carte  blanche 
loan  from  us  at  10  per  cent.  We  were  to  deliver  the  stock 
in  munitions  of  war,  as  called  for,  which,  you  will  observe, 
was  selling  our  loan  ;  for  at  the  bottom  of  all  our  romance 
lies  business,  business,  business.  Her  freedom  secured,  the 
new  state  accommodated  us  by  taking  two  millions  of  5  per 
cent,  stock  at  84.  In  all,  about  ten  millions  nominal  capi- 
tal, eight  millions  cash,  crossed  the  Atlantic  while  we  were 
cool ;  but  now  that  we  were  heated  by  three  hundred  joint- 
stock  companies,  and  the  fire  fanned  by  seven  hundred  pros- 
pectuses, fresh  loans  were  effected  with  a  wider  range  of 
territory  and  on  a  more  important  scale. 

Brazil  now  got    ....  £3,200,000  in  two  loans; 

Colombia 4,750,000; 

Peru 1,366,000  in  two  loans ; 

Mexico 6,400,000  in  two  loans ; 

Buenos  Ayres  ....  1,000,000 ; 
and  Guatemala,  a  state  we  never  heard  of  till  she  wanted 
money,  took  a  million  and  a  half.  Besides  these  there  were 
smaller  loans,  lent,  not  to  nations,  but  to  tribes.  So  hot 
was  our  money  in  our  pockets  that  we  tried  £200,000  on 
Patagonia.  But  the  savages  could  not  be  got  to  nail  us, 
which  was  the  more  to  be  regretted,  as  we  might  have  done 
a  good  stroke  with  them  ;  could  have  sent  the  stock  out  in 
fishermen's  boots,  cocked  hats,  beads,  Bibles,  and  army  mis- 
fits. 


184         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Europe  found  out  there  existed  an  island  overflowing 
with  faith  and  overburdened  with  money  :  she  ran  at  us  for 
a  slice  of  the  latter.  We  lent  Naples  two  millions  and  a 
half  at  5  per  cent,  stock  92  £.  Portugal  a  million  and  a 
half  at  87.  Austria  three  millions  and  a  half  at  82J. 
Denmark  three  millions  and  a  half  at  3  per  cent,  stock  75£. 
Then  came  a  bonne  bouche.  The  subtle  Greek  had  gathered 
from  his  western  visitors  a  notion  of  the  contents  of  Thu- 
cydides,  and  he  came  to  us  for  sympathy  and  money  to  help 
him  shake  off  the  barbarians  and  their  yoke,  and  save  the 
wreck  of  the  ancient  temples.  The  appeal  was  shrewdly 
planned.  England  reads  Thucydides,  and  skims  Demosthe- 
nes, though  Greece,  it  is  presumed,  does  not.  The  impres- 
sions of  our  boyhood  fasten  upon  our  hearts,  and  our  ma- 
ture reason  judges  them  like  a  father,  not  like  a  judge.  To 
sweep  the  Tartar  out  of  the  Peloponnese,  and  put  in  his 
place  a  free  press  that  should  recall  from  the  tomb  that 
soul  of  freedom,  and  revive  by  degrees  that  tongue  of  music 
— who  can  play  Solomon  when  such  a  proposal  comes  up 
for  judgment  ? 

"Give  yourself  no  farther  concern  about  the  matter," 
said  the  lofty  Burdett,  with  a  gentlemanlike  wave  of  the 
hand  ;  "  your  country  shall  be  saved." 

"In  a  few  weeks,"  said  another  statesman,  "Cochrane 
will  be  at  Constantinople,  and  burn  the  port  and  its  vessels. 
Having  thus  disarmed  invasion,  he  will  land  in  the  Morea 
and  clear  it  of  the  Turks." 

Greece  borrowed  in  two  loans  £2,800,000  at  5  per  cent. 
Russia  (droll  juxtaposition!)  drew  up  the  rear.  She  bor- 
rowed three  millions  and  a  half,  but  upon  far  more  favor- 
able terms  than,  with  all  our  romance,  we  accorded  to 
"  Graeculus  csuriens."  The  Greek  stock  ruled*  from  56 £ 
to  59. 

Into  these  loans,  and  the  multitudinous  mines  and  mis- 
cellaneous enterprises,  gas,  rail-road,  canal,  steam,  dock,  pro- 
vision, insurance,  milk,  water,  building,  washing,  money- 
*  A  corruption  from  the  French  verb  "rouler." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         185 

lending,  fishing,  lottery,  annuities,  herring-curing,  poppy- 
oil,  cattle,  weaving,  bog-draining,  street-cleaning,  house- 
roofing,  old  clothes  exporting,  steel-making,  starch,  silk- 
worm, etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  companies,  all  classes  of  the  commu- 
nity threw  themselves,  either  for  investment  or  temporary 
speculation  on  the  fluctuations  of  the  share-market.  One 
venture  was  ennobled  by  a  prince  of  the  blood  figuring  as  a 
director ;  another  was  sanctified  by  an  archbishop ;  hund- 
reds were  solidified  by  the  best  mercantile  names  in  the 
cities  of  London,  Liverpool,  and  Manchester.  Princes, 
dukes,  duchesses,  stags,  footmen,  poets,  philosophers,  divines, 
lawyers,  physicians,  maids,  wives,  widows,  tore  into  the 
market,  and  choked  the  Exchange  up  so  tight  that  the  bro- 
kers could  not  get  in  nor  out,  and  a  bare  passage  had  to  be 
cleared  by  force  and  fines  through  a  mass  of  velvet,  fustian, 
plush,  silk,  rags,  lace,  and  broadcloth,  that  jostled  and 
squeezed  each  other  in  the  struggle  for  gain.  The  shop- 
keeper flung  down  his  scales  and  off  to  the  share-market ; 
the  merchant  embarked  his  funds  and  his  credit ;  the  clerk 
risked  his  place  and  his  humble  respectability.  High  and 
low,  rich  and  poor,  all  hurried  round  the  Exchange  like 
midges  round  a  flaring  gaslight,  and  all  were  to  be  rich  in 
a  day. 

And,  strange  to  say,  all  seemed  to  win  and  none  to  lose ; 
for  nothing  was  at  a  discount  except  toil  and  self-denial,  and 
the  patient  industry  that  makes  men  rich,  but  not  in  a  day. 

One  cold  misgiving  fell.  The  vast  quantities  of  gold 
and  silver  that  Mexico,  mined  by  English  capital  and  ma- 
chinery, was  about  to  pour  into  our  ports  would  so  lower 
the  price  of  those  metals  that  a  heavy  loss  must  fall  on  all 
who  held  them  on  a  considerable  scale  at  their  present  val- 
ues in  relation  to  corn,  land,  labor,  and  other  properties  and 
commodities. 

"  We  must  convert  our  gold,"  was  the  cry.  Others  more 
rash  said,  "  This  is  premature  caution — timidity  :  there  is 
no  gold  come  over  yet ;  wait  till  you  learn  the  actual  bulk 
of  the  first  metallic  imports."  "  No,  thank  you,"  replied 


186  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

the  prudent  ones,  "  it  will  be  too  late  then ;  when  once  they 
have  touched  our  shores,  the  fall  will  be  rapid."  So  they 
turned  their  gold,  whose  value  was  so  precarious,  into  that 
unfluctuating  material,  paper.  This  solitary  fear  was  soon 
swallowed  up  in  the  general  confidence.  The  king  congrat- 
ulated Parliament,  and  Parliament  the  king.  Both  houses 
rang  with  trumpet-notes  of  triumph,  a  few  of  which  still 
linger  in  the  memories  of  living  men. 

1.  "  The  cotton-trade  and  iron-trade  were  never  so  flour- 
ishing." 

2.  "  The  exports  surpassed  by  millions  the  highest  figure 
recorded  in  history." 

3.  "The  hum  of  industry  was  heard  throughout  the 
fields." 

4.  "  Joy  beamed  in  every  face." 

5.  "  The  country  now  reaped  in  honor  and  repose  all  it 
had  sown  in  courage,  constancy,  and  wisdom." 

6.  "  Our  prosperity  extended  to  all  ranks  of  men,  en- 
hanced by  those  arts  which  minister  to  human  comfort, 
and  those  inventions  by  which  man  seems  to  have  obtained 
a  mastery  over  nature  through  the  application  of  her  own 
powers." 

But  one  honorable  gentleman  informed  the  Commons 
that  "  distress  had  vanished  from  the  land,"*  and  in  ad- 
dressing the  throne  acknowledged  a  novel  embarrassment : 
"  Such,"  said  he,  "  is  the  general  prosperity  of  the  country, 
that  I  feel  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed ;  whether  to  give  prec- 
edence to  our  agriculture,  which  is  the  main  support  of  the 
country,  to  our  manufactures,  which  have  increased  to  ai\ 
unexampled  extent,  or  to  our  commerce,  which  distributes 
them  to  the  ends  of  the  earth,  finds  daily  new  outlets  for 
their  distribution,  and  new  sources  of  national  wealth  and 
prosperity." 

Our  old  bank  did  not  profit  by  the  golden  shower.     Mr. 

*  "The  poor  ye  shall  have  always  with  you." — Chimerical  Evan- 
gelist. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         187 

Hardie  was  old  too,  and  the  cautious  and  steady  habits  of 
forty  years  were  not  to  be  shaken  readily.  He  declined 
sharas,  refused  innumerable  discounts,  and  loans  upon  scrip 
and  invoices,  and,  in  short,  was  behind  the  time.  His  bank 
came  to  be  denounced  as  a  clog  on  commerce.  Two  new 
banks  were  set  up  in  the  town  to  oil  the  wheels  of  adventure, 
on  which  he  was  a  drag,  and  Hardie  fell  out  of  the  game. 

He  was  not  so  old  nor  cold  as  to  be  beyond  the  reach  of 
mortification,  and  these  things  stung  him.  One  day  he  said 
fretfully  to  old  Skinner,  "  It  is  hardly  worth  our  while  to 
take  down  the  shutters  now,  for  any  thing  we  do." 

One  afternoon  two  of  his  best  customers,  who  were  now 
up  to  their  chins  in  shares,  came  and  solicited  a  heavy  loan 
on  their  joint  personal  security.  Hardie  declined.  The 
gentlemen  went  out.  Young  Skinner  watched  them,  and 
told  his  father  they  went  into  the  new  bank,  staid  there 
a  considerable  time,  and  came  out  looking  joyous.  Old 
Skinner  told  Mr.  Hardie.  The  old  gentleman  began  at  last 
to  doubt  himself  and  his  system. 

"The  bank  would  last  my  time,"  said  he,  "but  I  must 
think  of  my  son.  I  have  seen  many  a  good  business  die 
out  because  the  merchant  could  not  keep  up  with  the  times ; 
and  here  they  are  inviting  me  to  be  director  in  two  of  their 
companies — good  mercantile  names  below  me.  It  is  very 
flattering.  I'll  write  to  Dick.  It  is  just  he  should  have  a 
voice ;  but,  dear  heart !  at  his  age  we  know  beforehand  he 
will  be  for  galloping  faster  than  the  rest.  Well,  his  old  fa- 
ther is  alive  to  curb  him." 

It  was  always  the  ambition  of  Mr.  Richard  Hardie  to  be 
an  accomplished  financier.  For  some  years  past  he  had 
studied  money  at  home  and  abroad — scientifically.  His  fa- 
ther's connection  had  gained  him  a  footing  in  several  large 
establishments  abroad,  and  there  he  sat  and  worked  en  ama- 
teur as  hard  as  a  clerk.  This  zeal  and  diligence  in  a  young 
man  of  independent  means  soon  established  him  in  the  con- 
fidence of  the  chiefs,  who  told  him  many  a  secret.  He  was 
now  in  a  great  London  bank,  pursuing. similar  studies,  prac- 
tical and  theoretical. 


188         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

He  received  his  father's  letters  sketching  the  rapid  decline 
of  the  bank,  and  finally  a  short  missive  inviting  him  down 
to  consider  an  enlai'ged  plan  of  business.  During  the  four 
days  that  preceded  the  young  man's  visit,  more  than  one 
application  came  to  Hardie  senior  for  advances  on  scrip, 
cargoes  coming  from  Mexico,  and  joint  personal  securities 
of  good  merchants  that  were  in  the  current  ventures.  Old 
Hardie  now,  instead  of  refusing,  detained  the  proposals  for 
consideration.  Meantime,  he  ordered  five  journals  daily  in- 
stead of  one,  sought  information  from  every  quarter,  and 
looked  into  passing  events  with  a  favorable  eye.  The  result 
was  that  he  blamed  himself,  and  called  his  past  caution  ti- 
midity. Mr.  Richard  Hardie  arrived  and  was  ushered  into 
the  bank  parlor.  After  the  first  affectionate  greetings  old 
Skinner  was  called  in,  and,  in  a  little  pompous,  good-hearted 
speech,  invited  to  make  one  in  a  solemn  conference.  The 
compliment  brought  the  tears  into  the  old  man's  eyes.  Mr. 
Hardie  senior  opened,  showed  by  the  books  the  rapid  decline 
of  business,  pointed  to  the  rise  of  two  new  banks  owing  to 
the  tight  hand  he  had  held  unseasonably,  then  invited  the 
other  two  to  say  whether  an  enlarged  system  was  not  neces- 
sary to  meet  the  times,  and  submitted  the  last  proposals  for 
loans  and  discounts :  "  Now,  sir,  let  me  have  your  judg- 
ment." 

"  After  my  betters,  sir,"  was  old  Skinner's  reply. 
"Well,  Dick,  have  you  formed  any  opinion  on  this  matter?" 
"  I  have,  sir." 

"lam  extremely  glad  of  it,"  said  the  old  gentleman  very 
sincerely,  but  with  a  shade  of  surprise :  "  out  with  it,  Dick." 
The  young  man  thus  addressed  by  his  father  would  not 
have  conveyed  to  us  the  idea  of  "  Dick."  His  hair  was 
brown ;  there  were  no  wrinkles  under  his  eyes,  or  lines  in 
his  cheek,  but  in  his  manner  there  was  no  youth  whatever. 
He  was  tall,  commanding,  grave,  quiet,  cold,  and  even  at 
that  age  almost  majestic.  His  first  sentence,  slow  and  firm, 
removed  the  paternal  notion  that  a  cipher  or  a  juvenile  had 
come  to  the  council-table. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         189 

"  First,  sir,  let  me  return  to  you  my  filial  thanks  for  that 
caution  which  you  seem  to  think  has  been  excessive.  There 
I  beg  respectfully  to  differ  with  you." 

"  I  am  glad  of  it,  Dick ;  but  now  you  see  it  is  time  to  re- 
lax, eh  r 

"  No,  sir." 

The  two  old  men  stared  at  one  another. 

The  senile  youth  proceeded:  "That  some  day  or  other 
our  system  will  have  to  be  relaxed  is  probable,  but  just  now 
all  it  wants  is — tightening." 

"  Why,  Dick  ?  Skinner,  the  boy  is  mad.  You  can't  have 
watched  the  signs  of  the  times." 

"  I  have,  sir  ;  and  looked  below  the  varnish." 

"  To  the  point,  then,  Dick.  There  is  a  general  proposal 
'  to  relax  our  system.'  The  boy  uses  good  words,  Skinner, 
don't  he?  and  here  are  six  particulars  over  which  you  can 
cast  your  eye.  Hand  them  to  him,  Skinner." 

"  I  will  take  things  in  that  order,"  said  Richard,  quietly 
running  his  eye  over  the  papers.  There  Avas  a  moment's 
silence.  "  It  is  proposed  to  connect  the  bank  with  the  spec- 
ulations of  the  day." 

"  That  is  not  fairly  stated,  Dick ;  it  is  too  broad.  We 
shall  make  a  selection;  we  won't  go  in  the  stream  above 
ankle  deep." 

"  That  is  a  resolution,  sir,  that  has  been  often  made  but 
never  kept,  for  this  reason :  you  can't  sit  on  dry  land  and 
calculate  the  force  of  the  stream.  It  carries  those  who  pad- 
dle in  it  off  their  feet,  and  then  they  must  swim  with  it  or 
—sink." 

"  Dick,  for  heaven's  sake,  no  poetry  here." 

"Nay,  sir,"  said  old  Skinner,  "remember,  'twas  you 
brought  the  stream  in." 

"  More  fool  I.  '  Flow  on,  thou  shining  Dick  ;'  only  the 
more  figures  of  arithmetic,  and  the  fewer  figures  of  speech, 
you  can  give  old  Skinner  and  me,  the  more  weight  you  will 
carry  with  us." 

The  young  man  colored  a  moment,  but  never  lost  his  pon- 
derous calmness. 


190  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  I  will  give  you  figures  in  their  turn.  But  we  were  to 
begin  with  the  general  view.  Half  measures,  then,  are  no 
measures;  they  imply  a  vacillating  judgment ;  they  are  a 
vain  attempt  to  make  a  pound  of  rashness  and  a  pound  of 
timidity  into  two  pounds  of  prudence.  You  permit  me  that 
figure,  sir ;  it  comes  from  the  summing-book.  The  able 
man  of  business  never  fidgets.  He  keeps  quiet  or  carries 
something  out." 

Old  Skinner  rubbed  his  hands.  "  These  are  wise  words, 
sir." 

"  No,  only  clever  ones.  This  is  book-learning.  It  is  the 
sort  of  wisdom  you  and  I  have  outgrown  these  forty  years. 
Why,  at  his  age  I  was  choke-full  of  maxims.  They  are  good 
things  to  read ;  but  act  proverbs,  and  into  the  Gazette  you 
go.  My  faith  in  any  general  position  has  melted  away  with 
the  snow  of  my  seventy  winters." 

"What,  then,  if  it  was  established  that  all  adders  bite, 
would  you  refuse  to  believe  this  adder  would  bite  you,  sir?" 

"Dick,  if  a  single  adder  bit  me  it  would  go  farther  to 
convince  me  that  the  next  adder  would  bite  me  too  than  if 
fifty  young  Buffbns  told  me  all  adders  bite." 

The  senile  youth  was  disconcerted  for  a  single  moment. 
He  hesitated.  The  keys  that  the  old  man  had  himself  said 
would  unlock  his  judgment  lay  beside  him  on  the  table.  He 
could  not  help  glancing  slyly  at  them,  but  he  would  not  use 
them  before  their  turn.  His  mind  was  methodical.  His 
will  was  strong  in  all  things.  He  put  his  hand  in  his  side 
pocket,  and  drew  out  a  quantity  of  papers  neatly  arranged, 
tied,  and  endorsed. 

The  old  men  instantly  bestowed  a  more  watchful  sort  of 
attention  on  him. 

"This,  gentlemen,  is  a  list  of  the  joint-stock  companies 
created  last  year.  What  do  you  suppose  is  their  number  f 

"  Fifty,  I'll  be  bound,  Mr.  Richard." 

"  More  than  that,  Skinner.     Say  eighty." 

"Two  hundred  and  forty-three,  gentlemen.  Of  these 
some  were  still-born,  but  the  majority  hold  the  market.  The 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  191 

capital  proposed  to  be  subscribed  on  the  sum  total  is  two 
hundred  and  forty-eight  millions." 

"Pheugh!     Skinner!" 

"  The  amount  actually  paid  at  present  (chiefly  in  bank- 
notes) is  stated  at  £43,062,608,  and  the  balance  due  at  the 
end  of  the  year  on  this  set  of  ventures  will  be  £204,937,392 
or  thereabouts.  The  projects  of  this  year  have  not  been  col- 
lected, but  they  are  on  a  similar  scale.  Full  a  third  of  the 
general  sum  total  is  destined  to  foreign  countries,  either  in 
loans  or  to  work  mines,  etc.,  the  return  for  which  is  uncer- 
tain and  future.  All  these  must  come  to  nothing,  and  ruin 
the  shareholders  that  way,  or  else  must  sooner  or  later  be 
paid  in  specie,  since  no  foreign  nation  can  use  our  paper,  but 
must  sell  it  to  the  Bank  of  England.  We  stand,  then,  pledged 
to  burst  like  a  bladder,  or  to  export  in  a  few  months  thrice 
as  much  specie  as  we  possess.  To  sum  up,  if  the  country 
could  be  sold  to-morrow,  with  every  brick  that  stands  upon 
it,  the  proceeds  would  not  meet  the  engagements  into  which 
these  joint-stock  companies  have  inveigled  her  in  the  course 
of  twenty  months.  Viewed  then,  in  gross,  under  the  test, 
not  of  poetiy  and  prospectus,  but  of  arithmetic,  the  whole 
thing  is  a  bubble." 

"  A  bubble  ?"  uttered  both  the  seniors  in  one  breath,  and 
almost  in  a  scream. 

'*  But  I  am  ready  to  test  it  in  detail.  Let  us  take  three 
main  features — the  share-market,  the  foreign  loans,  and  the 
inflated  circulation  caused  by  the  provincial  banks.  Why 
do  the  public  run  after  shares  ?  Is  it  in  the  exercise  of  a 
healthy  judgment  ?  No  ;  a  cunning  bait  has  been  laid  for 
human  weakness.  Transferable  shares  valued  at  £100  can 
be  secured  and  paid  for  by  small  installments  of  £5  or  less. 
If,  then,  his  £100  shares  rise  to  £130  each,  the  adventurer 
can  sell  at  a  nominal  profit  of  30  per  cent.,  but  a  real  profit 
of  600  per  cent,  on  his  actual  investment.  This  intoxicates 
rich  and  poor  alike.  It  enables  the  small  capitalist  to  op- 
erate on  the  scale  that  belongs,  in  healthy  times,  to  the  large 
capitalist ;  a  beggar  can  now  gamble  like  a  prince  ;  his  far- 


192  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG- 

things  are  accepted  as  counters  for  sovereigns :  but  this  is 
a  distinct  feature  of  all  the  more  gigantic  bubbles  recorded. 
Here,  too,  you  see,  is  illusory  credit  on  a  vast  scale,  with  its 
sure  consequence,  inflated  and  fictitious  values :  another  bit 
of  soap  that  goes  to  every  bubble  in  history.  Now  for  the 
transatlantic  loans.  I  submit  them  to  a  simple  test.  Judge 
nations  like  individuals.  If  you  knew  nothing  of  a  man 
but  that  he  had  set  up  a  new  shop,  would  you  lend  him 
money  ?  Then  why  lend  money  to  new  republics  of  whom 
you  know  nothing  but  that,  born  yesterday,  they  may  die 
to-morrow,  and  that  they  are  exhausted  by  recent  wars,  and 
that,  where  responsibility  is  divided,  conscience  is  always 
subdivided." 

"  Well  said,  Richard,  well  said." 

"If  a  stranger  offered  you  thirty  per  cent.,  would  you 
lend  him  your  money?" 

"  No ;  for  I  should  know  he  didn't  mean  to  pay." 

"  Well,  these  foreign  negotiators  offer  nominally  five  per 
cent.,  but,  looking  at  the  price  of  the  stock,  thirty,  forty,  and 
even  fifty  per  cent.  Yet  they  are  not  so  liberal  as  they  ap- 
pear ;  they  could  afford  ninety  per  cent.  You  understand 
me,  gentlemen.  Would  you  lend  to  a  man  that  came  to 
you  under  an  alias  like  a  Newgate  thief?  Cast  your  eye 
over  this  prospectus.  It  is  the  Poyais  loan.  There  is  no 
such  place  as  Poyais." 

"  Good  heavens !" 

"  It  is  a  loan  to  an  anonymous  swamp  by  the  Mosquito 
River.  But  Mosquito  suggests  a  bite.  So  the  vagabonds 
that  brought  the  proposal  over  put  their  heads  together  as 
they  crossed  the  Atlantic,  and  christened  the  place  Poyais ; 
and  now  fools  that  are  not  fools  enough  to  lend  sixpence  to 
Zahara,  are  going  to  lend  £200,000  to  rushes  and  reeds." 

"  Why,  Richard,  what  are  you  talking  about?  '  The  air 
is  soft  and  balmy;  the  climate  fructifying;  the  soil  is  spon- 
taneous'— what  does  that  mean  ?  mum  !  mum  !  '  The  wa- 
ter runs  over  sands  of  gold.'  Why,  it  is  a  description  of 
Paradise.  And,  now  I  think  of  it,  is  not  all  this  taken 
from  John  Milton  V 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  193 

"  Very  likely.  It  is  written  by  thieves." 
"  It  seems  there  are  tortoise-shell,  diamonds,  pearls — " 
"  In  the  prospectus,  but  not  in  the  morass.  It  is  a  good, 
straightforward  morass,  with  no  pretensions  but  to  great 
damp.  But  don't  be  alarmed,  gentlemen,  our  countrymen's 
money  will  not  be  swamped  there.  It  will  all  be  sponged 
up  in  Threadneedle-street  by  the  poetic  swindlers  whose 
names,  or  aliases,  you  hold  in  your  hand.  The  Greek, 
Mexican,  and  Brazilian  loans  may  be  translated  from  Pros- 
pcctish  into  English  thus  :  At  a  date  when  every  sovereign 
will  be  worth  five  to  us  in  sustaining  shriveling  paper  and 
collapsing  credit,  we  are  going  to  chuck  a  million  sover- 
eigns into  the  Hellespont,  five  million  sovereigns  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  two  millions  into  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
Against  the  loans  to  the  old  monarchies  there  is  only  this 
objection,  that  they  are  unseasonable ;  will  drain  out  gold 
when  gold  will  be  life-blood ;  which  brings  me,  by  connec- 
tion, to  my  third  item — the  provincial  circulation.  Pray, 
gentlemen,  do  you  remember  the  year  1793 "?" 

For  some  minutes  past  a  dead  silence  and  a  deep,  absorb- 
ed attention  had  received  the  young  man's  words ;  but  that 
quiet  question  was  like  a  great  stone  descending  suddenly 
on  a  silent  stream.  Such  a  noise,  agitation,  and  flutter. 
The  old  banker  and  his  clerk  both  began  to  speak  at  once. 
"Don't  we?" 

«  Oh  Lord,  Mr.  Richard,  don't  talk  of  1793." 
"What  do  you  know  about  1793?  you  weren't  born." 
" Oh,  Mr.  Richard,  such  a  to-do,  sir?     1800  firms  in  the 
Gazette.     Seventy  banks  stopped." 

"Nearer  a  hundred,  Mr.  Skinner.  Seventy-one  stopped 
in  the  provinces,  and  a  score  in  London." 

"  Why,  sir,  Mr.  Richard  knows  every  thing,  whether  he 
was  born  or  not." 

"  No,  he  doesn't,  you  old  goose ;  he  doesn't  know  how  you 
and  I  sat  looking  at  one  another,  and  pretending  to  fumble, 
and  counting  out  slowly,  waiting  sick  at  heart  for  the  sack 
of  guineas  that  was  to  come  down  by  coach.  If  it  had  not 

I 


194         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

come  we  should  not  have  broken,  but  we  should  have  sus- 
pended payment  for  twenty-four  hours,  and  I  was  young 
enough  then  to  have  cut  my  throat  in  the  interval." 

"But  it  came,  sir — it  came,  and  you  cried,  'Keep  the 
bank  open  till  midnight!'  and  when  the  blackguards  heard 
that,  and  saw  the  sackful  of  gold,  they  crept  away ;  they 
were  afraid  of  offending  us.  Nobody  came  anigh  us  next 
day.  Banks  smashed  all  round  us  like  glass  bottles,  but 
Hardie  and  Co.  stood,  and  shall  stand  forever  and  ever. 
Amen." 

"Who  showed  the  white  feather,  Mr.  Skinner?  "Who 
came  creeping  and  sniveling,  and  took  my  hand  under  the 
counter,  and  pressed  it  to  give  me  courage,  and  then  was 
absurd  enough  to  make  apologies,  as  if  sympathy  was  as 
common  as  dirt  1  Give  me  your  hand  directly,  you  old — 
Hallo !" 

"  God  bless  you,  sir !  God  bless  you !  It  is  all  right,  sir. 
The  bank  is  safe  for  another  fifty  years.  We  have  got 
Master  Richard,  and  he  has  got  a  head ;  oh,  Gemini,  what 
a  head  he  has  got,  and  the  other  day  playing  marbles !" 

"Yes,  and  we  are  interrupting  him  with  our  nonsense. 
Go  on,  Richard." 

Richard  had  secretly  but  fully  appreciated  the  folly  of 
the  interruption.  His  was  a  great  mind,  and  moved  in  a 
sort  of  pecuniary  ether  high  above  the  little  weaknesses  my 
reader  has  observed  in  Hardie  senior  and  old  Skinner.  Be- 
ing, however,  equally  above  the  other  little  infirmities  of 
fretfulness  and  fussiness,  he  waited  calmly  and  proceeded 
coolly. 

"What  was  the  cause  of  the  distress  in  1793  ?" 

"Ah!  that  was  the  puzzle — wasn't  it,  Skinner?  We 
were  never  so  prosperous  as  that  year.  The  distress  came 
over  us  like  a  thunder-storm  all  in  a  moment.  Nobody 
knows  the  exact  cause." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  sir,  it  is  as  well  known  as  any  point 
of  history  whatever.  Some  years  of  prosperity  had  created 
a  spawn  of  country  banks,  most  of  them  resting  on  no  ba- 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         195 

sis  :  these  had  inflated  the  circulation  with  their  paper.  A 
panic  and  a  collapse  of  this  fictitious  currency  was  as  inev- 
itable as  the  Ml  of  a  stone  forced  against  nature  into  the 
air." 

"  There  were  a  great  many  petty  banks,  Eichard,  and,  of 
course,  plenty  of  bad  paper.  I  believe  you  are  right.  The 
causes  of  things  were  not  studied  in  those  days  as  they  are 
now." 

"All  that  we  know  now,  sir,  is  to  be  found  in  books 
written  long  before  1793." 

"Books!  books!" 

"Yes,  sir;  a  book  is  not  dead  paper  except  to  sleepy 
minds.  A  book  is  a  man  giving  you  his  best  thoughts  in 
his  very  best  words.  It  is  only  the  shallow  reader  that 
can't  learn  life  from  genuine  books.  I'll  back  him  who 
studies  them  against  the  man  who  skims  his  fellow-crea- 
tures, and  vice  versa.  A  single  page  of  Adam  Smith  stud- 
ied, understood,  and  acted  on  by  the  statesmen  of  your  day, 
would  have  averted  the  panic  of  1793.  I  have  the  para- 
graph in  my  note-book.  He  was  a  great  man,  sir ;  oblige 
me,  Mr.  Skinner." 

"  Certainly,  sir,  certainly.  '  Should  the  circulation  of 
paper  exceed  the  value  of  the  gold  and  silver  of  which  it 
supplies  the  place,  many  people  would  immediately  perceive 
they  had  more  of  this  paper  than  was  necessary  for  trans- 
acting their  business  at  home  ;  and,  as  they  could  not  send 
it  abroad,  bank  paper  only  passing  current  where  it  is  is- 
sued, there  would  be  a  run  upon  the  banks  to  the  extent  of 
this  superfluous  paper.' " 

Kichard  Hardie  resumed.  "  We  were  never  so  overrun 
with  rotten  banks  as  now.  Shoemakers,  cheesemongers, 
grocers,  write  up  'Bank'  over  one  of  their  windows,  and 
deal  their  rotten  paper  by  the  foolscap  ream.  The  issue 
of  their  larger  notes  is  colossal,  and  renders  a  panic  inevi- 
table soon  or  late ;  but,  to  make  it  doubly  sure,  they  have 
been  allowed  to  utter  £l  and  £2  notes.  They  have  done 
it,  and  on  a  frightful  scale.  Then,  to  make  it  trebly  sure, 


196  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

the  just  balance  between  paper  and  specie  is  disturbed  in 
the  other  scale  as  well  by  foreign  loans  to  be  paid  in  gold. 
In  1793  the  candle  was  left  unsnuffed,  but  we  have  lighted 
it  at  both  ends  and  put  it  down  to  roast.  Before  the  year 
ends,  every  sovereign  in  the  banks  of  this  country  may  be 
called  on  to  cash  £30  of  paper — bank-paper,  share-paper, 
foolscap-paper,  waste-paper.  In  1793,  a  small  excess  of 
paper  over  specie  had  the  power  to  cause  a  panic  and  break 
some  ninety  banks ;  but  our  excess  of  paper  is  far  larger, 
and  with  that  fatal  error  we  have  combined  foreign  loans 
and  three  hundred  bubble-companies.  Here,  then,  meet 
three  bubbles,  each  of  which,  unaided,  -secures  a  panic. 
Events  revolve,  gentlemen,  and  reappear  at  intervals.  The 
great  French  bubble  of  1719  is  here  to-day  with  the  addi- 
tion of  two  English  torn-fooleries,  foreign  loans  and  £1 
notes.  Mr.  Law  was  a  great  financier :  Mr.  Law  was  the 
first  banker  and  the  greatest.  All  mortal  bankers  are  his 
pupils,  though  they  don't  know  it.  Mr.  Law  was  not  a 
fool :  his  critics  are.  Mr.  Law  did  not  commit  one  error 
out  of  six  that  are  attributed  to  him  by  those  who  judge 
him  without  reading,  far  less  studying,  his  written  works. 
He  was  too  sound  and  sober  a  banker  to  admit  small  notes. 
They  were  excluded  from  his  system.  He  found  France  on 
the  eve  of  bankruptcy ;  in  fact,  the  state  had  committed  acts 
of  virtual  bankruptcy :  he  saved  her  with  his  bank.  Then 
came  his  two  errors,  one  remedial,  the  other  fatal.  No.  1, 
he  created  a  paper-company  and  blew  it  up  to  a  bubble. 
When  the  shares  had  reached  the  skies,  they  began  to  come 
down  like  stones  by  an  inevitable  law.  No.  2,  to  save  them 
from  their  coming  fate,  he  propped  them  with  his  bank. 
Overrating  the  power  of  governments,  and  underrating  na- 
ture's, he  married  the  Mississippi  shares  (at  forty  times  their 
value)  to  his  bank-notes  by  edict.  What  was  the  conse- 
quence? The  bank-paper,  sound  in  itself,  became  rotten 
by  marriage.  Nothing  could  save  the  share-paper.  The 
bank -paper,  making  common  cause  with  it,  shared  its  fate. 
Had  John  Law  let  his  two  tubs  stand  each  on  its  own  hot- 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  197 

torn,  the  shares  would  have  gone  back  to  what  they  came 
from — nothing ;  the  bank,  based  as  it  was  on  specie,  backed 
stoutly  by  the  government,  and  respected  by  the  people  for 
great  national  services,  would  have  weathered  the  storm 
and  lasted  to  this  day.  But  he  tied  his  rickety  child  to  his 
healthy  child,  and  flung  them  into  a  stormy  sea,  and  told 
them  to  swim  together :  they  sank  together.  Now  observe, 
sir,  the  fatal  error  that  ruined  that  great  financier  in  1720 
is  this  day  proposed  to  us.  We  are  to  connect  our  bank 
with  bubble-companies  by  the  double  tie  of  loans  and  lia- 
bility. John  Law  was  sore  tempted :  the  Mississippi  Com- 
pany was  his  own  child  as  well  as  the  bank.  Love  of  that 
popularity  he  had  drunk  so  deeply,  egotism,  and  parental 
partiality,  combined  to  obscure  that  great  man's  judgment. 
But  with  us,  folly  stands  naked  on  one  side,  bubbles  in 
hand — common  sense  and  printed  experience  on  the  other. 
These  six  specimen  bubbles  here  are  not  our  children.  Let 
me  see  whose  they  are,  aliases  excepted." 

"  Very  good,  young  gentleman,  very  good.  Now  it  is  rny 
turn.  I  have  got  a  word  or  two  to  say  on  the  other  side. 
The  journals,  which  are  so  seldom  agreed,  are  all  of  one 
mind  about  these  glorious  times.  Account  for  that !" 

"  How  can  you  know  their  minds,  sir  ?" 

"By  their  leading  columns." 

"  Those  are  no  clew." 

"What!  Do  they  think  one  thing  and  print  another? 
Why  should  the  independent  press  do  that?  Nonsense." 

"Why,  sir?  Because  they  are  bribed  to  print  it,  but 
they  are  not  bribed  to  think  it." 

"  Bribed  ?     The  English  press  bribed  *" 

"Oh,  not  directly,  like  the  English  freeman.  Oblige  me 
with  a  journal  or  two,  no  matter  which ;  they  are  all  tarred 
with  the  same  stick  in  time  of  bubble.  Here,  sir,  are  £50 
worth  of  bubble  advertisements,  yielding  a  profit  of  say  £25 
on  this  single  issue.  In  this  one  are  nearer  £100  worth  of 
such  advertisements.  Now  is  it  in  nature  that  a  newspa- 
per, which  is  a  trade  speculation,  should  say  the  word  that 


198  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

would  blight  its  own  harvest  ?  This  is  the  oblique  road  by 
which  the  English  press  is  bribed.  These  leaders  are  mere 
echoes  of  to-day's  advertisement  sheet,  and  bidders  for  to- 
morrow's." 

"  The  world  gets  worse  every  day,  Skinner." 

"  It  gets  no  better,"  replied  Richard,  philosophically. 

"  But,  Richard,  here  is  our  county  member,  and , 

staid,  sober  men  both,  and  both  have  pledged  their  honor 
on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Commons  to  the  sound  charac- 
ter of  some  of  these  companies." 

"They  have,  sir;  but  they  will  never  redeem  the  said 
honor,  for  they  are  known  to  be  bribed,  and  not  obliquely, 
by  those  very  companies."  (The  price-current  of  M.P. 
honor,  in  time  of  bubble,  ought  to  be  added  to  the  works  of 
arithmetic.)  "Those  two  Brutuses  get  £500  apiece  per 
annum  for  touting  those  companies  down  at  Stephen's. 

goes  cheaper  and  more  oblique.  He  touts,  in  the 

same  place  for  a  gas  company,  and  his  house  in  the  square 
flares  from  cellar  to  garret,  gratis." 

"  Good  gracious !  and  he  talked  of  the  light  of  conscience 
in  his  very  last  speech.  But  this  can  not  apply  to  all. 
There  is  the  archbishop :  he  can't  have  sold  his  name  to 
that  company." 

"  Who  knows  ?  he  is  over  head  and  ears  in  debt." 

"But  the  duke,  he  can't  have." 

"  Why  not "?  he  is  over  head  and  ears  in  debt.  Princes 
deep  in  debt  by  misconduct,  and  bishops  deep  in  ditto  by 
ditto,  are  half  honest,  needy  men ;  and  half  honest,  needy 
men  are  all  to  be  bought  and  sold  like  hogs  in  Smithfield, 
especially  in  time  of  bubble." 

"  What  is  the  world  come  to !" 

"  What  it  was  a  hundred  years  ago." 

"  I  have  got  one  pill  left  for  him,  Skinner.  Here  is  the 
Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer,  a  man  whose  name  stands  Cor 
caution,  has  pronounced  a  panegyric  on  our  situation.  Here 
are  his  words  quoted  in  this  leader ;  now  listen  :  *  We  may 
safely  venture  to  contemplate  with  instructive  admiration 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         199 

the  harmony  of  its  proportions  and  the  solidity  of  its  basis.' 
What  do  you  say  to  that  ?" 

"  I  say  it  is  one  man's  opinion  versus  the  experience  of  a 
century.  Besides,  that  is  a  quotation,  and  may  be  a  fraud- 
ulent one." 

"No,  no.  The  speech  was  only  delivered  last  Wednes- 
day :  we  will  refer  to  it.  Mum !  mum !  Ah !  here  it '  is. 
'  The  Chancellor  of  the  Exchequer  rose  and' — mum !  mum ! 
ah ! — '  I  am  of— o-pinion  that — if,  upon  a  fair  review  of 
our  situation,  there  shall  appear  to  be  nothing  hollow  in  its 
foundation,  artificial  in  its  superstructure,  or  flimsy  in  its 
general  results,  we  may.  safely  venture  to  contemplate  with 
instructive  admiration  the  harmony  of  its  proportions  and 
the  solidity  of  its  basis.'  " 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !  I  quite  agree  with  cautious  Bobby.  If 
it  is  not  hollow,  it  may  be  solid ;  if  it  is  not  a  gigantic  pa- 
per balloon,  it  may  be  a  very  fine  globe,  and  vice  versa, 
which  vice  versa  he  in  his  heart  suspects  to  be  the  truth. 
You  see,  sir,  the  mangled  quotation  was  a  swindle,  like  the 
flimsy  superstructures  it  was  intended  to  prop.  The  genu- 
ine paragraph  is  a  fair  sample  of  Robinson,  and  of  the  art 
of  withholding  opinion  by  means  of  expression.  But  as 
quoted,  by  a  fraudulent  suppression  of  one  half,  the  unbal- 
anced half  is  palmed  off  as  a  whole,  and  an  indecision  per- 
verted into  a  decision.  I  might  just  as  fairly  cite  him  as 
describing  our  situation  to  be  *  hollow  in  its  basis,  artificial 
in  its  superstructure,  flimsy  in  its  general  result.'  Since 
you  value  names,  I  will  cite  you  one  man  that  has  com- 
mented on  the  situation,  not,  like  Mr.  Robinson,  by  misty 
sentences,  each  neutralizing  the  other,  but  by  consistent  acts : 
a  man,  gentlemen,  whose  operations  have  always  been  nu- 
merous and  courageous  in  less  prosperous  times,  yet  now  he 
is  out  of  every  thing  but  a  single  insurance  company." 

'"•Who  is  the  gentleman?" 

"  It  is  not  a  gentleman ;  it  is  a  blackguard,"  said  the  ex- 
act youth. 

"  You  excite  my  curiosity.  Who  is  the  capitalist,  then, 
that  stands  aloof?" 


200         LOVE  MB  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  Nathan  Meyer  Rothschild." 

"  The  devil." 

Old  Skinner  started  sitting.  "  Rothschild  hanging  back. 
Oh,  master,  for  heaven's  sake  don't  let  us  try  to  be  wiser  than 
those  devils  of  Jews.  Mr.  Richard,  I  bore  up  pretty  well 
against  your  book-learning,  but  now  you've  hit  me  with  a 
thunderbolt.  Let  us  get  in  gold,  and  keep  as  snug  as  mice, 
and  not  lend  one  of  them  a  farthing  to  save  them  from  the 
gallows.  Those  Jews  smell  farther  than  a  Christian  can 
see.  Don't  let's  have  any  more  1793's,  sir,  for  heaven's 
sake.  Listen  to  Mr.  Richard;  he  has  been  abroad,  and 
come  back  with  a  head." 

"Be  quiet,  Skinner.  You  seem  to  possess  private  in- 
formation, Richard." 

"  I  employ  three  myrmidons  to  hunt  it :  it  will  be  useful 
by-and-by." 

"  It  may  be  useful  now.     Remark  on  these  proposals." 

"  "Well,  sir,  two  of  them  are  based  on  gold  mines,  shares 
at  a  fabulous  premium.  Now  no  gold  mine  can  be  worked 
to  a  profit  by  a  company.  Primo :  Gold  is  not  found  in 
veins  like  other  metals.  It  is  an  abundant  metal  made 
scarce  to  man  by  distribution  over  a  wide  surface.  The 
very  phrase  gold  mine  is  delusive.  Secundo:  Gold  is  a 
metal  that  can  not  be  worked  to  a  profit  by  a  company  for 
this  reason :  workmen  will  hunt  it  for  others  so  long  as  tho 
daily  wages  average  higher  than  the  amount  of  metal  they 
find  per  diem ;  but,  that  Rubicon  once  passed,  away  they 
run  to  find  gold  for  themselves  in  some  spot  with  similar 
signs :  if  they  stay,  it  is  to  murder  your  overseers  and  seize 
your  mine.  Gold  digging  is  essentially  an  individual  spec- 
ulation. These  shares  sell  at  £700  apiece :  a  dozen  of  them 
are  not  worth  one  Dutch  tulip-root.  Ah !  here  is  a  com- 
pany of  another  class,  in  which  you  have  been  invited  to  be 
director :  they  would  have  given  you  shares  and  made^ou 
liable."  Mr.  Richard  consulted  his  note-book.  "  This 
company,  which  i  commands  the  wealth  of  both  Indies ' — 
in  perspective — dissolved  yesterday  afternoon  for  want  of 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  201 

eight  guineas.  They  had  rented  offices  at  eight  guineas  a 
week,  and  could  not  pay  the  first  week.  '  Turn  out  or  pay,5 
said  the  landlord,  a  brute  absorbed  in  the  present,  and  with 
no  faith  in  the  glorious  future.  They  offered  him  £1500 
worth  of  shares  instead  of  his  paltry  eight  guineas  cash. 
On  this  he  swept  his  premises  of  them.  What  a  godsend 
you  would  have  been  to  these  Jeremy  Diddlers,  you  and  the 
ten  thousand  they  would  have  bled  you  of." 

The  old  banker  turned  pale. 

"  Oh,  that  is  nothing  new,  sir.  (  To-morrow  the  first  lord 
of  the  treasury  calls  at  my  house,  and  brings  me  £11,261 
14«.  HfcZ.,  which  is  due  to  me  from  the  nation  at  twelve 
of  the  clock  on  that  day ;  you  couldn't  lend  me  a  shilling 
till  then  could  ye?'  Now  for  the  loans.  Baynes  upon 
Haggart  want  £2000  at  5  per  cent." 

"  Good  names,  Richard,  surely,"  said  old  Hardie,  faintly. 

"  They  were ;  but  there  are  no  good  names  in  time  of 
bubble :  the  operations  are  so  enormous  that  in  a  feAv  weeks 
a  man  is  hollowed  out  and  his  frame  left  standing.  In  such 
times  capitalists  are  like  filberts;  they  look  all  nut,  but 
half  of  them  are  dust  inside  the  shell,  and  only  known  by 
breaking.  Baynes  upon  Haggart,  and  Haggart  upon 
Baynes,  the  city  is  full  of  their  paper.  I  have  brought 
some  down  to  show  it  you.  A  discounter,  who  is  a  friend 
of  mine,  did  it  for  them  on  a  considerable  scale  at  thirty 
per  cent,  discount  (cast  your  eye  over  these  bills,  Haggart 
on  Baynes).  But  he  has  burnt  his  fingers  even  at  that,  and 
knows  it.  So  I  am  authorized  to  offer  all  these  to  you  at 
fifty  per  cent,  discount." 

"  Good  heavens !  Richard  !" 

"  If,  therefore,  you  think  of  doing  rotten  apple  upon  rot- 
ten pear,  otherwise  Haggart  upon  Baynes,  why  do  it  at  5 
per  cent,  when  it  is  to  be-  had  by  the  quire  at  50  ?" 

"  Take  them  out  of  my  sight,"  said  old  Hardie,  starting 
up ;  "  take  them  all  out  of  my  sight.  Thank  God  I  sent  for 
you.  No  more  discussion,  no  more  doubt.  Give  me  your 
hand,  my  son  ;  you  have  saved  the  bank !" 

12 


202        LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

The  conference  broke  up  with  these  eager  words,  and 
young  Skinner  retired  swiftly  from  the  keyhole. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Hardie  senior  came  to  a  resolution 
which  saddened  poor  old  Skinner.  He  called  the  clerks  in 
and  introduced  them  to  Mr.  Richard  as  his  managing  part- 
ner. 

"  Every  dog  has  his  day,"  said  the  old  gentleman :  "  mine 
has  been  a  long  one.  Richard  has  saved  the  bank  from  a 
fatal  error;  Richard  shall  conduct  it  as  Hardie  and  Son. 
Don't  be  disconsolate,  Skinner;  I'll  look  in  on  you  now 
and  then." 

Hardie  junior  sent  back  all  the  proposals  with  a  polite 
negative.  He  then  proceeded  on  a  two-headed  plan :  Not 
to  lose  a  shilling  when  the  panic  he  expected  should  come, 
and  to  make  .£20,000  upon  its  subsiding.  Hardie  and  Son 
held  Exchequer  bills  on  rather  a  large  scale :  they  were  at 
half  a  crown  premium.  He  sold  every  one  and  put  gold  in 
his  coffers.  He  converted  in  the  same  way,  all  his  other 
securities  except  consols.  These  were  low,  and  he  calcu- 
lated they  would  rise  in  any  general  depreciation  of  more 
pretentious  investments.  He  drew  out  his  balance,  a  large 
one,  from  his  London  correspondent,  and  put  gold  in  his 
coffers.  He  drew  a  large  deposit  from  the  Bank  of  En- 
gland. Whenever  his  own  notes  came  into  the  bank,  he 
withdrew  them  from  circulation.  "They  may  hop  upon 
Hardie  and  Son,"  said  he,  "  but  they  shan't  run  upon  us, 
for  I'll  cut  off  their  legs  and  keep  them  in  my  safe." 

One  day  he  invited  several  large  tradesmen  in  the  town 
to  dine  with  him  at  the  bank.  They  came  full  of  curiosity. 
He  gave  them  a  luxurious  dinner,  which  pleased  them.  Af- 
ter dinner  he  exposed  the  real  state  of  the  nation,  as  he  un- 
derstood it.  They  listened  politely,  and  sneered  silently, 
but  visibly.  He  then  produced  six  large  packets  of  his  bank- 
notes ;  each  packet  contained  £3000.  Skinner,  then  pres- 
ent, enveloped  these  packets  in  cartridge-paper,  and  the 
guests  were  requested  to  seal  them  up.  This  was  soon 
done.  In  those  days  a  bunch  of  gigantic  seals  dangled  and 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  203 

danced  on  the  pit  of  every  man's  stomach.  The  sealed 
packets  went  back  into  the  safe. 

"  Show  us  a  sparkle  o'  gold,  Mr.  Richard,"  said  Meredith, 
linen-draper  and  wag. 

"  Mr.  Skinner,  oblige  me  by  showing  Mr.  Meredith  a  lit- 
tle of  your  specie — a  few  anti-bubble  pills,  eh !  Mr.  Mere- 
dith." 

Omnes.     "Ha!  ha!  ha!" 

Presently  a  shout  from  Meredith :  "  Boys,  he  has  got  it 
here  by  the  bushel.  All  new  sovereigns.  Don't  any  of  ye 
be  a  linen-draper,  if  you  have  got  a  chance  to  be  a  banker. 
How  much  is  there  here,  Mr.  Richard?" 

"  We  must  consult  the  books  to  ascertain  that,  sir." 

"  Must  you  ?  Then  just  turn  your  head  away,  Mr.  Rich- 
ard, and  I'll  put  in  a  claw." 

Omnes.     "  Haw !  haw !  ho  !" 

Richard  Hardie  resumed.  "  My  precautions  seem  extrav- 
agant to  you  now,  but  in  a  few  months  you  will  remember 
this  conversation,  and  it  will  lead  to  business."  The  rest 
of  the  evening  he  talked  of  any  thing,  every  thing,  except 
banking.  He  was  not  the  man  to  dilute  an  impression. 

Hardie  junior  was  so  confident  in  his  reading  and  his 
reasonings  that  he  looked  every  day  into  the  journals  for  the 
signs  of  a  general  collapse  of  paper  and  credit ;  instead  of 
which,  public  confidence  seemed  to  increase,  not  diminish, 
and  the  paper  balloon,  as  he  called  it,  dilated,  not  shrank ; 
and  this  went  on  for  months.  His  gold  lay  a  dead  and  use- 
less stock,  while  paper  was  breeding  paper  on  every  side  of 
him.  He  suffered  his  share  of  those  mortifications  which 
eveiy  man  must  look  to  endure  who  takes  a  course  of  his 
own,  and  stems  a  human  current.  He  sat  sombre  and  per- 
plexed in  his  bank  parlor,  doing  nothing ;  his  clerks  mended 
pens  in  the  office.  The  national  calamity  so  confidently 
predicted,  and  now  so  eagerly  sighed  for,  came  not. 

In  other  words,  Richard  Hardie  was  a  sagacious  calcu- 
lator, but  not  a  prophet ;  no  man  is  till  afterward,  and  then 
nine  out  of  ten  are.  At  last  he  despaired  of  the  national 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

calamity  ever  coming  at  all.  So  then,  one  dark  November 
day,  an  event  happened  that  proved  him  a  shrewd  calculator 
of  probabilities  in  the  gross,  and  showed  that  the  records  of 
the  past,  "studied"  instead  of  "skimmed,"  may  in  some 
degree  counterbalance  youth  and  its  narrow  experience. 
Owing  to  the  foreign  loans,  there  were  a  great  many  bills 
out  against  this  country.  Some  heavy  ones  were  presented, 
and  seven  millions  in  gold  taken  out  of  the  Bank  of  England 
and  sent  abroad.  This  would  have  trickled  back  by  de- 
grees ;  but  the  suddenness  and  magnitude  of  the  drain 
alarmed  the  bank  directors  for  the  safety  of  the  bank,  sub- 
ject as  it  was  by  Mr.  Peel's  bill  to  a  vast  demand  for  gold. 

Up  to  this  period,  though  they  had  amassed  specie  them- 
selves, they  had  rather  fed  the  paper  fevCr  in  the  country  at 
large,  but  now  they  began  to  take  a  wide  and  serious  view 
of  the  grave  contingencies  around  them.  They  contracted 
their  money  operations,  refused  in  two  cases  to  discount 
corn,  and,  in  a  word,  put  the  screw  on  as  judiciously  as  they 
could.  But  time  was  up.  Public  confidence  had  reached 
its  culminating  point.  The  sudden  caution  of  the  bank 
could  not  be  hidden :  it  awoke  prudence,  and  prudence  after 
imprudence  drew  terror  at  its  heels.  There  was  a  tre- 
mendous run  upon  the  country  banks.  The  smaller  ones 
"smashed  all  around  like  glass  bottles,"  as  in  1793;  the 
larger  ones  made  gigantic  and  prolonged  efforts  to  stand, 
and  generally  fell  at  last. 

Many,  whose  books  showed  assets  40s.  in  the  pound,  sus- 
pended payment ;  for  in  a  violent  panic  the  bank  creditors 
can  all  draw  their  balances  in  a  few  hours  or  days,  but  the 
poor  bank  can  not  put  a  similar  screw  on  its  debtors.  Thus 
no  establishment  was  safe.  Honor  and  solvency  bent  before 
the  storm,  and  were  ranked  with  rottenness ;  and,  as  at  the 
same  time  the  market  price  of  securities  sank  with  frightful 
rapidity,  scarcely  any  amount  of  invested  capital  was  safe 
in  the  unequal  conflict. 

Exchequer  bills  went  down  to  60s.  discount,  and  the  funds 
rose  and  fell  like  waves  in  a  storm. 


LOYE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         205 

London  bankers  were  called  out  of  church  to  answer  dis- 
patches from  their  country  correspondents. 

The  Mint  worked  day  and  night,  and  coined  a  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  sovereigns  per  diem  for  the  Bank  of  En- 
gland ;  but  this  large  supply  went  but  a  little  way,  since 
that  firm  had  in  reality  to  cash  nearly  all  the  country  notes 
that  were  cashed. 

Post-chaises  and  four  stood  like  hackney-coaches  in  Lom- 
bard Street,  and  every  now  and  then  went  rattling  off  at  a 
gallop  into  the  country  with  their  golden  freight.  In  Lon- 
don, at  the  end  of  a  single  week,  not  an  old  sovereign  was 
to  be  seen,  so  fiercely  was  the  old  coinage  swept  into  the 
provinces,  so  active  were  the  Mint  and  the  smashers :  these 
last  drove  a  roaring  ti'ade ;  for  paper  now  was  all  suspect- 
ed, and  any  thing  that  looked  like  gold  was  taken  reckless- 
ly in  exchange. 

Soon  the  storm  burst  on  the  London  banks.  A  firm 
known  to  possess  half  a  million  in  undeniable  securities 
could  not  cash  them  fast  enough  to  meet  the  checks  drawn 
on  their  counter,  and  fell.  Next  day,  a  house  whose  very 
name  was  a  rock  suspended  for  four  days.  An  hour  or  two 
later  two  more  went  hopelessly  to  destruction.  The  panic 
rose  to  madness.  Confidence  had  no  longer  a  clue,  nor 
names  a  distinction.  A  man's  enemies  collected  three  or 
four  vagabonds  round  his  door,  and  in  another  hour  there 
was  a  run  upon  him,  that  never  ceased  till  he  was  emptied 
or  broken.  At  last,  as,  in  the  ancient  battles,  armies  rested 
on  their  arms  to  watch  a  duel  in  which  both  sides  were  rep- 
resented, the  whole  town  watched  a  run  upon  the  great 
house  of  Pole,  Thornton,  and  Co.  The  Bank  of  England, 
from  public  motives,  spiced  of  course  with  private  interest, 
had  determined  to  support  Pole,  Thornton,  and  Co.,  and  so 
perhaps  stem  the  general  fi\ry,  for  all  things  have  their  turn- 
ing-point. Three  hundred  thousand  pounds  were  advanced 
to  Pole  and  Co.,  who  with  this  aid  and  their  own  resources 
battled  through  the  week,  but  on  Saturday  night  were  drain- 
ed so  low  that  their  fate  once  more  depended  on  the  Bank 


206  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

of  England.  Another  large  sum  was  advanced  them.  They 
went  on ;  but,  ere  the  next  week  ended,  they  succumbed, 
and  universal  panic  gained  the  day.  Climax  of  all,  the 
Bank  of  England  notes  lost  the  confidence  of  the  public,  and 
a  frightful  run  was  made  on  it.  The  struggle  had  been  pre- 
pared for,  and  was  gigantic  on  both  sides.  Here,  the  great 
hall  of  the  bank,  full  of  panic-stricken  citizens  jostling  one 
another  to  get  gold  for  the  notes  of  the  bank ;  there,  foreign 
nations  sending  over  ingots  and  coin  to  the  bank,  and  the 
Mint  working  night  and  day,  Sunday  and  week-day,  to  turn 
them  into  sovereigns  to  meet  the  run.  Sovereigns  or  else 
half  sovereigns  were  promptly  delivered  on  demand.  No 
hesitation  or  sign  of  weakness  peeped  out ;  but  under  this 
bold  and  prudent  surface,  dismay,  sickness  of  heart,  and  the 
dread  of  a  great  humiliation.  At  last,  one  dismal  evening, 
this  establishment,  which  at  the  beginning  of  the  panic  had 
twenty  millions  specie,  left  off  with  about  five  hundred  thou- 
sand pounds  in  coin,  and  a  similar  amount  in  bullion.  A 
large  freight  of  gold  was  on  the  seas,  coming  to  their  aid, 
and  due,  but  not  arrived ;  the  wind  was  high  ;  and  in  a  few 
hours  the  people  would  be  howling  round  their  doors  again. 
They  sent  a  hasty  message  to  the  government,  and  implored 
them  to  suspend,  by  order  in  council,  the  operation  of  Mr. 
Peel's  bill  for  a  few  days.  A  plump  negative  from  Mr. 
Canning. 

Then,  being  driven  to  expedients,  they  bethought  them 
of  a  chest  of  £1  notes  that  they  had  luckily  omitted  to  burn. 
Another  message  to  the  government,  "May  we  use  these?" 

"  As  a  temporary  expedient,  yes." 

The  one  pound  notes  were  whirling  all  over  the  country 
before  daybreak,  and,  marvelous  anomaly,  which  took  Rich- 
ard Hardie  by  surprise,  they  oiled  the  waves,  the  panic 
abated  from  that  hour.  The  holders  of  country  notes  took 
the  £1  B.  E.  notes  as  cash  with  avidity.  The  very  sight 
of  them  piled  on  a  counter  stopped  a  run  in  more  than  one 
city. 

The  demand  for  gold  at  the  Bank  of  England  continued, 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         207 

but  less  fiercely;  and  as  the  ingots  still  came  tumbling  in, 
and  the  Mint  hailed  sovereigns  on  them,  their  stock  of 
specie  rose  as  the  demand  declined,  and  they  came  out  of 
their  fiercest  battle  with  honor.  But,  ere  the  tide  turned, 
things  in  general  came  to  a  pass  scarcely  known  in  the  his- 
tory of  civilized  nations.  Ladies  and  gentlemen  took  heir- 
looms to  the  pawnbrokers',  and  swept  their  tills  of  the  last 
coin.  Not  only  was  wild  speculation,  hitherto  so  universal 
and  ardent,  snuffed  out  like  a  candle,  but  investment  ceased 
and  commerce  came  to  a  stand-still.  Bank  stock,  East  In- 
dia stock,  and,  some  days,  consols  themselves,  did  not  go 
down ;  they  went  out,  were  blotted  from  the  book  of  busi- 
ness. No  man  would  give  them  gratis,  no  man  would  take 
them  on  any  other  terms.  The  brokers  closed  their  books ; 
there  were  no  buyers  nor  sellers.  Trade  was  coming  to  the 
same  pass,  except  the  retail  business  in  eatables ;  and  an 
observant  statesman  and  economist,  that  watched  the  phe- 
nomenon, pronounced  that  in  forty-eight  hours  more  all 
dealings  would  have  ceased  between  man  and  man,  or  re- 
turned to  the  rude  and  primitive  form  of  barter,  or  direct 
exchange  of  men's  several  commodities,  labor  included. 

Finally,  things  crept  into  their  places  ;  shades  of  dis- 
tinction were  drawn  between  good  securities  and  bad. 
Shares  were  forfeited,  companies  dissolved,  bladders  punc- 
tured, balloons  flattened,  bubbles  burst,  and  thousands  of 
families  ruined — thousands  of  people  beggared — and  the  na- 
tion itself,  its  paper  fever  reduced  by  a  severe  bleeding,  lay 
sick,  panting,  exhausted,  and  discouraged  for  a  year  or  two 
to  await  the  eternal  cycle — torpor,  prudence,  health,  pleth- 
ora, blood-letting,  torpor,  prudence,  health,  plethora,  blood- 
letting, etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  etc.,  in  secula  seculorum" 

The  journals  pitched  into  "  speculation." 

Three  banks  lay  in  the  dust  in  the  town  of ,  and 

Hardie  and  Son  stood  looking  calmly  down  upon  the  ruins. 
Richard  Hardie  had  carried  out  lus  double-headed  plan. 
There  was  no  run  upon  him— could  not  be  one  in  the 


208  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

course  of  nature,  his  balances  were  so  low,  and  his  notes 
were  all  at  home.  He  created  artificially  a  run  of  a  veiy 
different  kind.  He  dined  the  same  party  of  tradesmen — all 
but  one,  who  could  not  come,  being  at  supper  after  Polonius 
his  fashion.  After  dinner  he  showed  the  packets  still  seal- 
ed, and  six  more  unsealed.  "  Here,  gentlemen,  is  our  whole 
issue."  There  was  a  huge  wood  fire  in  the  old-fashioned 
room.  He  threw  a  packet  of  notes  into  it.  A  most  respect- 
able grocer  yelled  and  lost  color :  victim  of  the  senses,  he 
thought  sacred  money  was  here  destroyed,  and  his  host  a 
well-bred,  and  oh !  how  plausible,  maniac.  The  others  de- 
rided him,  and  packet  after  packet  fed  the  flames.  When 
two  only  were  left,  containing  about  five  thousand  pounds 
between  them,  Hardie  junior  made  a  proposal  that  they 
should  advertise  in  their  shop  windows  to  receive  Hardie's 
five  pound  notes  as  five  guineas  in  payment  for  their  goods. 
Observing  a  natural  hesitation,  he  explained  that  they  would 
by  this  means  crush  their  competitors,  and  could  easily  clap 
a  price  on  their  goods  to  cover  the  odd  shillings.  The  bar- 
gain was  soon  struck.  Mr.  Richard  was  a  great  man.  All 
his  guests  felt  in  their  secret  souls  and  pockets — excuse  the 
tautology — that  some  day  or  other  they  should  want  to  bor- 
row money  of  him.  Besides,  "crush  their  competitors!" 

Next  day  Mr.  Richard  loosed  his  hand  and  let  a  flock  of 
his  own  bank-notes  fly  (they  were  asked  for  earnestly  every 
day).  Some  soon  found  their  way  to  the  shops  in  question. 
The  next  day  still  more  took  wing  and  buzzed  about  the 
shops.  Presently  other  tradesmen,  finding  people  rushed  to 
the  shops  in  question,  began  to  bid  against  them  for  Har- 
die's notes,  a  result  the  long-headed  youth  had  expected ; 
and  said  notes  went  up  to  ten  shillings  premium.  Too  calm 
and  cold  to  be  betrayed  into  deserting  his  principles,  he  con- 
fined the  issue  within  the  bounds  he  had  prescribed,  and 
when  they  were  all  out  seldom  saw  one  of  them  again.  By 
this  means  he  actually  lowered  the  Bank  of  England  notes 
in  public  estimation,  and  set  his  own  high  above  them  in 
the  town  of = — .  Deposits  came  in.  Confidence  un- 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         209 

paralleled  took  the  place  of  fear  so  far  as  he  was  concerned, 
and  he  was  left  free  to  work  the  other  part  of  his  plan. 

To  the  amazement  and  mystification  of  old  Skinner,  he 
laid  out  ten  thousand  pounds  in  Exchequer  bills,  and  fol- 
lowed this  up  by  other  large  purchases  of  paper,  paper, 
nothing  but  paper. 

Hardie  senior  was  nervous. 

"  Are  you  true  to  your  own  theoiy,  Richard  ?" 

The  youth  explained  to  him  that  blind  confidence  always 
ends  in  blind  distrust,  and  then  all  paper  becomes  depreci- 
ated alike,  but  good  paper  is  sure  to  recover.  "  Sixty-two 
shillings  discount,  sir,  is  a  ridiculous  decline  of  Exchequer 
bills.  We  are  at  peace,  and  elastic,  and  the  government  is 
strong.  My  other  purchases  all  rest  upon  certain  informa- 
tion, carefully  and  laboriously  amassed  while  the  world  was 
so  busy  blowing  bubbles.  I  am  now  buying  paper  that  is 
unjustly  depreciated  in  Panic,  i.  e.,  in  the  second  act  of  that 
mania  of  which  Bubble  is  the  first  act."  He  added,  "  When 
the  herd  buy,  the  price  rises ;  when  they  sell,  it  falls.  To 
buy  with  them  and  sell  with  them  is  therefore  to  buy  dear 
and  sell  cheap.  My  game — and  it  is  a  game  that  reduces 
speculation  to  a  certainty — is  threefold : 

"  First,  never,  at  any  price  or  under  any  temptation,  buy 
any  thing  that  is  not  as  good  as  gold. 

"  Secondly,  buy  that  sound  article  when  the  herd  sells  it. 

"  Thirdly,  sell  it  when  the  herd  buys  it." 

"  Richard,"  said  the  old  man,  "  I  see  what  it  is — you  are 
a  genius." 

"No." 

"  It  is  no  use  your  denying  it,  Richard." 

"  Common  sense,  sir,  common  sense." 

"  Yes,  but  common  sense  carried  to  such  a  height  as  you 
do  is  genius." 

"  Well,  sir,  then  I  own  to  the  genius  of  common  sense." 

"  I  admire  you,  Richard — I  am  proud  of  you ;  but  the 
bank  has  stood  140  years,  and  never  a  genius  in  it :"  the 
old  man  sighed. 


210         LOVE  MB  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Hardie  senior,  having  relieved  his  mind  of  this  vague 
misgiving,  never  returned  to  it  —  probably  never  felt  it 
again.  It  was  one  of  those  strange  flashes  that  cross  a 
mind  as  a  meteor  the  sky. 

The  old  gentleman,  having  little  to  do,  talked  more  than 
heretofore,  and,  like  fathers,  talked  about  his  son,  and,  un- 
like sons,  cried  him  up  at  his  own  expense.  The  world  is 
not  very  incredulous  ;  above  all,  it  never  disbelieves  a  man 
who  calls  himself  a  fool.  Having  then  gained  the  public 
ear  by  the  artifice  of  self-depreciation,  he  poured  into  it  the 
praises  of  Hardie  junior.  He  went  about  telling  how  he, 
an  old  man,  was  all  but  bubbled  till  this  young  Daniel  came 
down  and  foretold  all.  Thus  paternal  garrulity  combined 
for  once  with  a  man's  own  ability  to  place  Kichard  Hardie 
on  the  pinnacle  of  provincial  grandeur. 

A  few  years  more  and  Hardie  senior  died.  (His  old  clerk 
Skinner  followed  him  a  month  later.) 

Kichard  Hardie,  now  sole  partner  and  proprietor,  as- 
sumed a  mode  of  living  unknown  to  his  predecessors.  He 
built  a  large,  commodious  house,  and  entertained  in  the  first 
style.  The  best  families  in  the  neigborhood  visited  a  man 
whose  manner  was  quiet  and  stately,  his  income  larger  than 
their  own,  and  his  house  and  table  luxurious  without  vul- 
gar pretension,  and  the  red-hot  gilding  and  glare  with  which 
the  injudicious  parvenu  brands  himself  and  furniture. 

The  bank  itself  put  on  a  new  face.  Twice  as  much  glass 
fronted  the  street,  and  a  skylight  was  let  into  the  ceiling : 
there  were  five  clerks  instead  of  three;  the  new  ones  at 
much  smaller  salaries  than  the  pair  that  had  come  down 
from  antiquity. 


CHAPTER  XHI. 

Sucn  was  Mr.  Hardie  at  twenty-five,  and  his  townspeo- 
ple said,  "  If  he  is  so  wise  now  he  is  a  boy,  what  in  heav- 
en's name  will  lie  be  at  forty?"  To  sixty  the  provincial 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG.  211 

imagination  did  not  attempt  to  follow  his  wisdom.  He  was 
now  past  thirty,  and  behind  the  scenes  of  his  bank  was  still 
the  same  able  financier  I  have  sketched.  But  in  society  he 
seemed  another  man.  There  his  characteristics  were  quiet 
courtesy,  imperturbability,  a  suave  but  impressive  manner, 
vast  information  on  current  events,  and  no  flavor  whatever 
of  the  shop. 

He  had  learned  the  happy  art,  which  might  be  called 
" the  barrister's  art,"  " hoc  agendi"  of  throwing  the  whole 
man  into  a  thing  at  one  tune,  and  out  of  it  at  another.  In 
the  bank  and  in  his  own  study  he  was  a  devout  worshiper 
of  Mammon ;  in  society,  a  courteous,  polished,  intelligent 
gentleman,  always  ready  to  sift  and  discuss  any  worthy 
topic  you  could  start  except  finance.  There  was  some  af- 
fectation in  the  cold  and  immovable  determination  with 
which  he  declined  to  say  three  words  about  money.  But 
these  great  men  act  habitually  on  a  preconceived  system : 
this  gives  them  their  force. 

If  Lucy  Fountain  had  been  one  of  those  empty  girls  that 
were  so  rife  at  the  time,  the  sterling  value  of  his  conversa- 
tion would  have  disgusted  her,  and  his  calm  silence  when 
there  was  nothing  to  be  said  (sure  proof  of  intelligence) 
would  have  passed  for  stupidity  with  her.  But  she  was  in- 
telligent, well  used  to  bungling,  straightforward  flattery, 
and  to  smile  with  arch  contempt  at  it,  and  very  capable  of 
appreciating  the  more  subtle  but  less  satirical  compliment 
a  man  pays  a  pretty  girl  by  talking  sense  to  her ;  and,  as  it 
happened,  her  foible  favored  him  no  less  than  did  her  strong 
points.  She  attached  too  solid  a  value  to  manner ;  and  Mr. 
Hardie's  manner  was,  to  her  fancy,  male  perfection.  It 
added  to  him  in  her  estimation  as  much  as  David  Dodd's 
defects  in  that  kind  detracted  from  the  value  of  his  mind 
and  heart. 

To  this  favorable  opinion  Mr.  Hardie  responded  in  full. 

He  had  never  seen  so  graceful  a  creature,  nor  so  young  a 
woman  so  courteous  and  high-bred. 

He  observed  at  once  what  less  keen  persons  failed  to  dis- 


212  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

cover,  that  she  was  seldom  spontaneous  or  off  her  guard. 
He  admired  her  the  more.  He  had  no  sympathy  with 
the  infantine  in  man  or  woman.  "  She  thinks  before  she 
speaks,"  said  he,  with  a  note  of  admiration.  On  the  other 
hand,  he  missed  a  trait  or  two  the  young  lady  possessed,  for 
they  happened  to  be  virtues  he  had  no  eye  for ;  but  the  sum 
total  was  most  favorable ;  in  short,  it  was  esteem  at  first 
sight. 

As  a  cobweb  to  a  cabbage-net,  so  fine  was  Mrs.  Bazal- 
gette's  reticulation  compared  with  Uncle  Fountain's.  She 
invited  Mr.  Hardie  to  stay  a  fortnight  with  her,  commenc- 
ing just  one  day  before  Lucy's  return.  She  arranged  a 
round  of  gayety  to  celebrate  the  double  event.  What  could 
be  more  simple  ?  Yet  there  was  policy  below.  The  whirl 
of  pleasure  was  to  make  Lucy  forget  every  body  at  Font 
Abbey ;  to  empty  her  heart,  and  pave  Mrs.  B.'s  candidate's 
way  to  the  vacancy.  Then,  she  never  threw  Mr.  Hardie  at 
Lucy's  head,  contenting  herself  with  speaking  of  him  with 
veneration  when  Lucy  herself  or  others  introduced  his 
name.  She  was  always  contriving  to  throw  the  pair  to- 
gether, but  no  mortal  could  see  her  hand  at  work  in  it. 
liref,  a  she  spider.  The  first  day  or  two  she  watched  her 
niece  on  the  sly,  just  to  see  whether  she  regretted  Font 
Abbey,  or,  in  other  words,  Mr.  Talboys.  Well  acquainted 
with  all  the  subtle  signs  by  which  women  read  one  anoth- 
er, she  observed  with  some  uneasiness  that  Lucy  appeared 
somewhat  listless  and  pensive  at  times,  when  left  quite  to 
herself.  Once  she  found  her  with  her  cheek  in  her  hand, 
and,  by  the  way  the  young  lady  averted  her  head  and  slid 
suddenly  into  distinct  cheerfulness,  suspected  there  must 
have  been  tears  in  her  eyes,  but  could  not  be  positive. 
Next,  she  noticed  with  satisfaction  that  the  round  of  gay- 
cty,  including,  as  it  did,  morning  rides  as  well  as  evening 
dances,  dissipated  these  little  reveries  and  languors.  She 
inferred  that  either  there  was  nothing  in  them  but  a  sort 
of  sediment  of  ennui,  the  natural  remains  of  a  visit  to  Font 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  213 

Abbey,  or  that,  if  there  was  any  thing  more,  it  had  yielded 
to  the  active  pleasures  she  had  provided,  and  to  the  lady's 
easy  temper  and  love  of  society,  "  the  only  thing  she  loves, 
or  ever  will,"  said  Mrs.  B.,  assuming  prophecy. 

"  Aunt,  how  superior  Mr.  Hardie's  conversation  is.  He 
interests  one  in  topics  that  are  unbearable  generally :  poli- 
tics now.  I  thought  I  abhorred  them,  but  I  find  it  was 
only  those  little  paltry  Whig  and  Tory  squabbles  that  wea- 
ried me.  Mr.  Hardie's  views  are  neither  Whig  nor  Tory ; 
they  are  patriotic,  and  sober,  and  large-minded.  He  thinks 
of  the  country.  I  can  take  some  interest  in  what  he  calls 
politics." 

"And,  pray,  what  is  that1?" 

"  Well,  aunt,  the  liberation  of  commerce  from  its  fetters 
for  one  thing.  I  can  contrive  to  be  interested  in  that,  be- 
cause I  know  England  can  be  great  only  by  commerce. 
Then  the  education  of  all  classes,  because  without  that 
England  can  not  be  enlightened  or  good." 

"  He  never  says  a  word  to  me  about  such  things,"  said 
Mrs.  Bazalgette  :  "  I  suppose  he  thinks  they  are  above  poor 
me."  She  delivered  this  with  so  admirable  an  imitation  of 
pique,  that  the  courtier  was  deceived,  and  applied  butter  to 
"  a  fox's  wound." 

"  Oh  no,  aunt.  Consider ;  if  that  was  it,  he  would  not 
waste  them  on  me,  who  am  so  inferior  to  you  in  sagacity. 
More  likely  he  says,  '  This  young  lady  has  not  yet  com- 
pleted her  education ;  I  will  sprinkle  a  little  good  sense 
among  her  frivolous  accomplishments.'  Whatever  the  mo- 
tive, I  am  very  much  obliged  to  Mr.  Hardie.  A  man  of 
sense  is  so  refreshing  after — (full  stop.)  What  do  you  think 
of  his  voice  ?" 

"  His  voice  ?     I  don't  remember  any  thing  about  it." 

"  Yes,  you  do — you  must :  it  is  a  very  remarkable  one ; 
so  mellow,  so  quiet,  yet  so  modulated." 

"  Well,  I  do  remember  now ;  it  is  rather  a  pleasant  voice 
— for  a  man." 


214         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"Rather  a  pleasant  voice!"  repeated  Lucy,  opening  her 
eyes  ;  "  why,  it  is  a  voice  to  charm  serpents." 

"  Ha !  ha  !     It  has  not  charmed  him  one  yet,  you  see." 

This  speech  was  not  in  itself  pellucid ;  but  these  sweet 
ladies  among  themselves  have  so  few  topics  compared  with 
men,  and  consequently  beat  their  little  manor  so  often,  that 
they  seize  a  familiar  idea,  under  any  disguise,  with  the  ra- 
pidity of  lightning. 

"  Oh !  charmers  are  charm-proof,"  replied  Lucy ;  "  that 
is  the  only  reason  why :  I  am  sure  of  that."  Then  she  re- 
flected a  while.  "  It  is  his  natural  voice,  is  it  not  1  Did 
you  ever  hear  him  speak  in  ony  other?  Think." 

"  Never." 

"  Then  he  must  be  a  good  man.  Apropos,  is  Mr.  Hardie 
a  good  man,  aunt  T' 

"  Why,  of  course  he  is." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?" 

"  I  never  heard  of  any  scandal  against  him." 

"  Oh !  I  don't  mean  your  negative  goodness.  You  never 
heard  any  thing  against  me  out  of  doors." 

"  Well,  and  are  you  not  a  good  girl  7" 

" Me,  aunt?     Why,  you  know  I  am  not." 

"  Bless  me,  what  have  you  done  ?" 

"I  have  done  nothing,  aunt,"  exclaimed  Lucy,  "and  the 
good  are  never  nullities.  Then  I  am  not  open,  which  is  jv 
great  fault  in  a  character.  But  I  can't  help  it !  I  can't !  I 
can't!" 

"Well,  you  need  not  break  your  heart  for  that.  You 
will  get  over  it  before  you  have  been  married  a  year. 
Look  at  me ;  I  was  as  sly  as  any  of  you  at  first  going  off, 
but  now  I  can  speak  my  mind ;  and  a  good  thing  too,  or 
what  would  become  of  me  among  the  selfish  set  ?" 

"Meaning  me,  dear?" 

"No.  Divide  it  among  you.  Come,  this  is  idle  talk. 
Men's  voices,  and  whether  they  are  good,  bad,  or  indiffer- 
ent, as  if  that  mattered  a  pin,  provided  their  incomes  arc 
good  and  their  manners  endurable.  I  want  a  little  serious 
ctmverraflon  with  ytm." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  215 

"Do  you?"  and  Lucy  colored  faintly;  "with  all  my 
heart." 

"We  go  to  the  Hunt's  ball  the  day  after  to-morrow, 
Lucy ;  I  suppose  you  know  that  ?  Now  what  on  earth  am 
I  to  wear  ?  that  is  the  question.  There  is  no  time  to  get  a 
new  dress  made,  and  I  have  not  got  one — " 

"That  you  have  not  worn  at  least  once." 

"  Some  of  them  twice  and  three  times ;"  and  the  B.  look- 
ed aghast  at  the  state  of  nudity  to  which  she  was  reduced. 
Lucy  sidled  toward  the  door. 

"  Since  you  consult  me,  dear,  I  advise  you  to  wear  what 
I  mean  to  wear  myself." 

"  Ah !  what  a  capital  idea !  then  we  shall  pass  for  sis- 
ters. I  dare  say  I  have  got  some  old  thing  or  other  that 
will  match  yours ;  but  you  had  better  tell  me  at  once  what 
you  do  mean  to  wear." 

"  A  gown,  a  pair  of  gloves,  and  a  smerk ;"  and  with  this 
heartless  expression  of  nonchalance  Lucy  glided  away  and 
escaped  the  impending  shower. 

"Oh!  the  selfishness  of  these  girls!"  cried  the  deserted 
one.  "  I  have  got  her  a  husband  to  her  taste,  so  now  she 
runs  away  from  me  to  think  of  him." 

The  next  moment  she  looked  at  the  enormity  from  an- 
other point  of  view,  and  then  with  this  burst  of  injured  vir- 
tue gave  way  to  a  steady  complacency. 

"  She  is  caught  at  last.  She  notices  his  very  voice.  She 
fancies  she  cares  for  politics — ha !  ha !  She  is  gone  to  med- 
itate on  him — could  not  bear  any  other  topic — would  not 
even  talk  about  dress,  a  thing  her  whole  soul  was  wrapped 
up  in  till  now.  I  have  known  her  go  on  for  hours  at  a 
stretch  about  it." 

There  are  people  with  memories  so  constructed  that  what 
they  said,  and  another  did  not  contradict  or  even  answer, 
seems  to  them,  upon  retrospect,  to  have  been  delivered  by 
that  other  person,  and  received  in  dead  silence  by  them- 
selves. 

Meantime  Lucy  was  in  her  own  room,  and  the  door 
bolted. 


216  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

So  she  was  the  next  day ;  and  uneasy  Mrs.  Bazalgette 
came  hunting  her,  and  tapped  at  the  door  after  first  trying 
the  handle,  which  in  Lucy's  creed  was  not  a  discreet  and 
polished  act. 

"  Nobody  admitted  here  till  three  o'clock." 

"  It  is  me,  Lucy." 

"  So  I  conclude,"  said  Lucy,  gayly.  " '  Me'  must  call 
again  at  three,  whoever  it  is." 

"Not  I,"  said  Aunt  Bazalgette,  and  flounced  off  in  a 
pet. 

At  three  Dignity  dissolved  in  Curiosity,  and  Mrs.  Bazal- 
gette entered  her  niece's  room  in  an  ill  temper :  it  vanished 
like  smoke  at  the  sight  of  two  new  dresses,  peach-colored 
And  glacees,  just  finished,  lying  on  the  bed.  An  eager  fire 
of  questions.  "  Where  did  you  get  them  ?  which  is  mine  *? 
who  made  them  ?" 

"  A  new  dress-maker." 

"  Ah !  what  a  godsend  to  poor  us !     Who  is  she  ?" 

"  Let  me  see  how  you  like  her  work  before  I  tell  you. 
Try  this  one  on." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  tried  on  her  dress,  and  was  charmed  with 
it.  Lucy  would  not  try  on  hers.  She  said  she  had  done 
so,  and  it  fitted  well  enough  for  her. 

"  Every  thing  fits  you,  you  witch,"  replied  the  B.  "  I 
must  have  this  woman's  address ;  she  is  an  angel." 

Lucy  looked  pleased.  "  She  is  only  a  beginner,  but  de- 
sirous to  please  you ;  and  '  zeal  goes  farther  than  talent,' 
says  Mr.  Dodd." 

"Mr.  Dodd!  Ah!  by-the-by,  that  reminds  me — I  am 
so  glad  you  mentioned  his  name.  Where  does  the  woman 
live?" 

"  The  woman,  or,  as  some  consider  her,  the  girl,  lives  at 
present  with  a  charming  person  called  by  the  world  Mrs. 
Bazalgette,  but  by  the  dress-maker  her  sweet  little  aunt" — 
(kiss)  (kiss)  (kiss) ;  and  Lucy,  whose  natural  affection  for 
this  lady  was  by  a  certain  law  of  nature  heated  higher  by 
working  day  and  night  for  her  in  secret,  felt  a  need  of  ex- 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         217 

pansion,  and  curled  round  her  like  a  serpent  with  a  dove's 
heart. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  did  what  you  and  I,  manly  reader,  should 
have  been  apt  to  omit.  She  extricated  herself,  not  roughly, 
yet  a  little  hastily — like  a  water-snake  gliding  out  of  the 
other  sweet  serpent's  folds.*  Sacred  dress  being  present, 
she  deemed  caresses  frivolous — and  ill-timed.  "There, 
there,  let  me  alone,  child,  and  tell  me  all  about  it  directly. 
What  put  it  into  your  head?  Who  taught  you1?  Is  this 
your  first  attempt  ?  Have  you  paid  for  the  silk,  or  am  I 
to?  Do  tell  me  quick  ;  don't  keep  me  on  thorns!" 

Lucy  answered  this  fusillade  in  detail. 

"  You  know,  aunt,  dress-makers  bring  us  their  failures, 
and  we,  by  our  hints,  get  them  made  into  successes." 

"  So  we  do." 

"  So  I  said  to  myself,  '  Now  why  not  bring  a  little  intel- 
ligence to  bear  at  the  beginning,  and  make  these  things 
right  at  once  ?'  Well,  I  bought  several  books,  and  studied 
them,  and  practiced  cutting  out,  in  large  sheets  of  brown 
paper  first ;  next  I  ventured  a  small  flight — I  made  Jane  a 
gown." 

"  What !  your  servant?" 

"  Yes.  I  had  a  double  motive :  first  attempts  are  sel- 
dom brilliant,  and  it  was  better  to  fail  in  merino,  and  on 
Jane,  than  on  you,  madam,  and  in  silk.  In  the  next  place, 
Jane  had  been  giving  herself  airs,  and  objecting  to  do  some 
work  of  that  kind  for  me,  so  I  thought  it  a  good  opportuni- 
ty to  teach  her  that  dignity  does  not  count  in  being  diso- 
bliging. The  poor  girl  is  so  ashamed  now :  she  comes  to 
me  in  her  merino  frock,  and  pesters  me  all  day  to  let  her  do 
things  for  me.  I  am  at  my  wits'  end  sometimes  to  invent 
unreal  distresses,  like  the  writers  of  fiction,  you  know ;  and, 

*  Here  flashes  on  the  cultivated  mind  the  sprightly  couplet, 
"Oh  that  I  had  my  mistress  at  this  bay, 
To  kiss  and  clip  me — till  I  run  away." — SHAKSPEARE. 

Venut  and  Adonis. 

K 


218  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,   LOVE   ME    LONG. 

aunty,  dear,  you  will  not  have  to  pay  for  the  stuff:  to  tell 
you  the  real  truth,  I  overheard  Mr.  Bazalgette  say  some- 
thing about  the  length  of  your  last  dfess-maker's  bill,  and 
as  I  had  been  very  economical  at  Font  Abbey,  I  found  I  had 
eighteen  pounds  to  spare,  so  I  said  nothing,  but  I  thought 
we  will  have  a  dress  apiece  that  nobody  shall  have  to  pay 
for." 

"  Eighteen  pounds  ?  These  two  lovely  dresses,  lace,  trim- 
mings, and  all,  for  eighteen  pounds !" 

"  Yes,  aunt.  .  So  you  see  those  good  souls  that  make 
our  dresses  have  imposed  upon  us  without  ceremony :  they 
would  have  been  twenty-five  pounds  apiece ;  now  would 
they  not  ?" 

"  At  least.  Well,  you  are  a  clever  girl.  I  might  as  well 
try  on  yours,  as  you  won't." 

"Do,  dear." 

She  tried  on  Lucy's  gown,  and,  as  before,  got  two  look' 
ing-glasses  into  a  line,  twisted,  and  twirled,  and  inspected 
herself  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  and  in  an  hour  and  a 
half  resigned  herself  to  take  the  dress  off.  Lucy  observed 
with  a  sly  smile  that  her  gayety  declined,  and  she  became 
silent  and  pensive. 


"  In  the  dead  of  the  night,  when  with  labor  oppressed, 
All  mortals  enjoy  the  sweet  blessing  of  rest,"  a  phantom 
stood  at  Lucy's  bedside  and  fingered  her.  She  awoke  with 
a  violent  scream,  the  first  note  of  which  pierced  the  night's 
dull  ear,  but  the  second  sounded  like  a  Avail  from  a  well, 
being  uttered  a  long  way  under  the  bed-clothes.  "  Hush ! 
don't  be  a  fool,"  cried  the  affectionate  phantom  ;  and  knead- 
ed the  uncertain  form  through  the  bed-clothes ;  "  fancy 
screeching  so  at  sight  of  me!"  Then  gradually  a  single 
eye  peeped  timidly  betveen  two  white  hands  that  held  the 
sheets  ready  for  defense  like  a  shield. 

"  B — b — but  you  are  all  in  white,"  gulped  Lucy,  trem- 
bling all  over;  for  her  delicate  fibres  were  set  quivering, 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LOXG.  219 

and  could  not  be  stilled  by  a  word,  fingered  at  midnight  all 
in  a  moment  by  a  shade. 

"  Why,  what  color  should  I  be — in  my  night-gown  ?" 
snapped  the  spectre.  "  What  color  is  yours  ?"  and  she  gave 
Lucy's  a  little  angry  pull — "and  every  body  else's1?" 

"  But  at  the  dead  of  night,  aunt,  and  without  any  warn- 
ing— its  terrible.  Oh  dear!"  (another  little  gulp  in  the 
throat,  exceeding  pretty.) 

"Lucy,  be  yourself,"  said  the  spectre,  severely ;  "you 
used  not  to  be  so  selfish  as  to  turn  hysterical  when  your 
aunt  came  to  you  for  advice." 

Lucy  had  to  do  a  little.  "  Forgive,  blest  shade !"  She 
apologized,  crushed  down  her  obtrusive,  egotistical  tremors, 
and  vibrated  to  herself. 

Placable  Aunt  Bazalgette  accepted  her  excuses,  and 
opened  the  business  that  brought  her  there. 

"  I  didn't  leave  my  bed  at  this  hour  for  nothing,  you 
may  be  sure." 

"  N— no,  aunt." 

"Lucy,"  continued  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  deepening,  "there  is 
a  weight  on  my  mind." 

Up  sat  Lucy  in  the  bed,  and  two  sapphire  eyes  opened 
wide  and  made  terror  lovely. 

"Oh,  aunt,  what  have  you  been  doing?  It  is  remorse, 
then,  that  will  not  let  you  sleep.  Ah!  I  see!  your  flirta- 
tions— your  flirtations — this  is  the  end  of  them." 

"  My  flirtations !"  cried  the  other,  in  great  surprise.  "  I 
never  flirt.  I  only  amuse  myself  with  them."* 

"You — never — flirt?  Oh!  oh!  oh!  Mr.  Christopher, 
Mr.  Home,  Sir  George  Healey,  Mr.  M'Donnell,  Mr.  Wol- 
fenton,  Mr.  Vaughan — there  !  Oh  !  and  Mr.  Dodd!" 

"  Well,  at  all  events,  it's  not  for  any  of  those  fools  I  get 
out  of  my  bed  at  this  time  of  night.  I  have  a  weight  on  my 
mind;  so  do  be  serious,  if  you  can.  Lucy,  I  tried  all  yes- 
terday to  hide  it  from  myself,  but  I  can  not  succeed." 

*  In  strict  prammar,  this  "them"  ought  to  refer  to  "flirtations;" 
but  Lucy's  aunt  did  not  talk  strict  grammar.  Does  yours  ? 


220         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"What,  dear  aunt?" 

"  That  your  gown  fits  me  ever  so  much  better  than  my 
own."  She  sighed  deeply. 

Lucy  smiled  slyly;  but  she  replied,  "Is  not  that  fancy1?" 

"  No,  Lucy,  no,"  was  the  solemn  reply ;  "  I  have  tried 
to  shut  my  eyes  to  it,  but  I  can't." 

"  So  it  seems.     Ha!  ha  !" 

"Now  do  be  serious:  it  is  no  laughing  matter:  how  un- 
fortunate I  am !" 

"  Not  at  all.  Take  my  gown  ;  I  can  easily  alter  yours 
to  fit  me,  if  necessary." 

"  Oh,  you  good  girl,  how  clever  you  are !  I  should  never 
have  thought  of  that."  N.B. — She  had  been  thinking  of 
nothing  else  these  six  hours. 

"  Go  to  bed,  dear,  and  sleep  in  peace,"  said  Lucy,  sooth- 
ingly. "  Leave  all  to  me." 

"  No,  I  can't  leave  all  to  you.  Now  I  am  to  have  yours, 
I  must  try  it  on."  It  was  hers  now,  so  her  confidence  in 
its  fitting  was  shaken. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  then  lighted  all  the  candles  in  the  sconce?*, 
and  opened  Lucy's  drawers,  and  took  out  linen,  and  put  on 
the  dress  with  Lucy's  aid,  and  showed  Lucy  how  it  fitted, 
and  was  charmed,  like  a  child  with  a  new  toy. 

Presently  Lucy  interrupted  her  raptures  by  an  exclama- 
tion. Mrs.  Bazalgette  looked  round,  and  there  was  her 
niece  inspecting  the  ghostly  robe  which  had  caused  her  such 
a  fright. 

"  Here  are  oceans  of  yards  of  lace  on  her  very  night- 
gown !"  cried  Lucy. 

"  Well,  does  not  every  lady  wear  lace  on  her  night- 
gown"?" was  the  tranquil  reply.  "What  is  that  on  yours, 
pray  t" 

"A  little  misery  of  Valenciennes  an  inch  broad;  but 
this  is  Mechlin — superb!  delicious!  Well,  aunt,  you  are  a 
sincere  votary  of  the  graces;  you  put  on  fine  things  be- 
cause they  are  fine  things,  not  with  the  hollow  motive  of 
dazzling  society  ;  you  wear  Mechlin,  not  for  eclat,  but  for 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  221 

Mechlin.     Alas!  how  few,  like  you,  pursue  quite  the  same 
course  in  the  dark  that  they  do  in  the  World's  eye." 
"Don't  moralize,  dear;  unhook  me!" 

After  breakfast  Mrs.  Bazalgette  asked  Lucy  how  long 
she  could  give  her  to  choose  which  of  the  two  gowns  to 
take,  after  all. 

"  Till  eight  o'clock." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  breathed  again.  She  had  thought  her- 
self committed  to  No.  2,  and  No.  1  was  beginning  to  look 
lovely  in  consequence.  At  eight,  the  choice  being  offered 
her  with  impenetrable  nonchalance  by  Lucy,  she  took  Lucy's 
without  a  moment's  hesitation,  and  sailed  off  gayly  to  her 
own  room  to  put  it  on,  in  which  progress  the  ample  peach- 
colored  silk  held  out  in  both  hands  showed  like  Cleopatra's 
foresail,  and  seemed  to  draw  the  dame  along. 

Lucy,  too,  was  happy — demurely ;  for  in  all  this  business 
the  female  novice,  "la  rusee  sans  le  savoir,"  had  outwitted 
the  veteran.  Lucy  had  measured  her  whole  aunt.  So  she 
made  dress  A.  for  her,  but  told  her  she  was  to  have  dress  B. 
This  at  once  gave  her  desires  a  perverse  bent  toward  her 
own  property,  the  last  direction  they  could  have  been  warped 
into  by  any  other  means ;  and  so  she  was  deluded  to  her 
good,  and  fitted  to  a  hair,  soul  and  body. 

Going  to  the  ball,  one  cloud  darkened  for  an  instant  the 
matron's  mind. 

"  I  am  so  afraid  they  will  see  it  only  cost  nine  pounds." 

"Enfant!"  replied  Lucy,  "setat.  20." 

At  the  ball  Mr.  Hardie  and  Lucy  danced  together,  and 
were  the  most  admired  couple. 

The  next  day  Mr.  Hardie  announced  that  he  was  obliged 
to  curtail  his  visit  and  go  up  to  London.  Mrs.  Bazalgette 
remonstrated.  Mr.  Hardie  apologized,  and  asked  permis- 
sion to  make  out  the  rest  of  his  visit  on  his  return.  Mrs. 
B.  accorded  joyfully,  but  Lucy  objected  :  "  Aunt,  don't  you 
be  deluded  into  any  such  arrangement ;  Mr.  Hardie  is  liable 
to  another  fortnight.  We  have  nothing  to  do  with  his  mis- 


222  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

management.  He  comes  to  spend  a  fortnight  with  us :  he 
tries,  but  fails.  I  am  sorry  for  Mr.  Hardie,  but  the  en- 
gagement remains  in  full  force.  I  appeal  to  you,  Mr.  Ba- 
zalgette,  you  are  so  exact." 

"  I  don't  see  myself  how  he  can  get  out  of  it  with  credit," 
said  Bazalgette,  solemnly. 

"  I  am  happy  to  find  that  my  duty  is  on  the  side  of  my 
inclination,"  said  Mr.  Hardie.  He  smiled,  well  pleased,  and 
looked  handsomer  than  ever. 

They  all  missed  him  more  or  less,  but  nobody  more  than 
Lucy.  His  conversation  had  a  peculiar  charm  for  her. 
His  knowledge  of  current  events  was  unparalleled ;  then 
there  was  a  quiet  potency  in  him  she  thought  very  becom- 
ing in  a  man ;  and  then  his  manner.  He  was  the  first  of 
our  unfortunate  sex  who  had  reached  beau  ideal.  One  was 
harsh,  another  finicking ;  a  third  loud  ;  a  fourth  enthusiastic ; 
a  fifth  timid;  and  all  failed  in  tact  except  Mr.  Hardie. 
Then,  other  male  voices  were  imperfect :  they  were  too  in- 
significant or  too  startling,  too  bass  or  too  treble,  too  some- 
thing or  too  other.  Mr.  Hardie's  was  a  mellow  tenor,  al- 
ways modulated  to  the  exact  tone  of  good  society.  Like 
herself,  too,  he  never  laughed  loud,  seldom  out ;  and  even 
his  smiles,  like  her  own,  did  not  come  in  unmeaning  pro- 
fusion, so  they  told  when  they  did  come. 

The  Bazalgettes  led  a  very  quiet  life  for  the  next  fort- 
night, for  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  husbanding  invitations  for 
Mr.  Hardie's  return. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  yawned  many  times  during  this  barren 
period,  but  with  considerate  benevolence  she  shielded  Lucy 
from  ennui.  Lucy  was  a  dress-maker,  gifted,  but  inexpe- 
rienced ;  well,  then,  she  would  supply  the  latter  deficiency 
by  giving  her  an  infinite  variety  of  alterations  to  make  in  a 
multitude  of  garments.  There  are  egotists  who  charge  for 
tuition, "but  she  would  teach  her  dear  niece  gratis.  A 
mountain  of  dresses  rose  in  the  drawing-room,  a  dozen  met- 
amorphoses were  put  in  hand,  and  a  score  more  projected. 

"  She  pulled  down,  she  built  up,  she  rounded  the  angular, 


IX) VE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG.  223 

and  squared  the  round."  And  here  Mr.  Bazalgette  took 
perverse  views  and  misbehaved.  He  was  a  very  honest 
man,  but  not  a  refined  courtier.  He  seldom  interfered  with 
these  ladies,  one  way  or  other,  except  to  provide  funds, 
which  interference  was  never  snubbed  ;  for  was  he  not  mas- 
ter of  the  house  in  that  sense  1  But  having  observed  what 
was  going  on  day  after  day  in  the  drawing-room  or  work- 
shop, he  walked  in  and  behaved  himself  like  a  brute. 

"  How  much  a  week  does  she  give  you,  Lucy?"  said  he, 
looking  a  little  red. 

Lucy  opened  her  eyes  in  utter  astonishment,  and  said 
nothing ;  her  very  needle  and  breath  were  suspended. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  shrugged  her  shoulders  to  Lucy,  but  dis- 
dained words.  Mr.  Bazalgette  turned  to  his  wife. 

"I  have  often  recommended  economy  to  you,  Jane,  I 
need  not  say  with  what  success ;  but  this  sort  of  economy 
is  not  for  your  credit  or  mine.  If  you  want  to  add  a  dress- 
maker to  your  staff — with  all  my  heart.  Send  for  one  when 
you  like,  and  keep  her  to  all  eternity.  But  this  young  lady 
is  our  ward,  and  I  will  not  have  her  made  a  servant  of  for 
your  convenience." 

"  Put  your  work  down,  dear,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  re- 
signedly. "  He  does  not  understand  our  affection,  nor  any 
thing  else  except  pounds,  shillings,  and  pence." 

"  Oh,  yes  I  do.  I  can  see  through  varnished  selfishness, 
for  one  thing." 

"You  certainly  ought  to  be  a  judge  of  the  unvarnished 
article,"  retorted  the  lady. 

"  Having  had  it  constantly  under  my  eyes  these  twenty 
years,"  rejoined  the  gentleman. 

"  Oh,  aunt !  oh,  Mr.  Bazalgette !"  cried  Lucy,  rising  and 
clasping  her  hands ;  "  if  you  really  love  me,  never  let  me  be 
the  cause  of  a  misunderstanding,  or  an  angry  word  between 
those  I  esteem  ;  it  would  make  me  too  miserable  ;  and,  dear 
Mr.  Bazalgette,  you  must  let  people  be  happy  in  their  own 
way,  or  you  will  be  sure  to  make  them  unhappy.  My  aunt 
and  I  understand  one  another  better  than  you  do." 


224  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"She  understands  you,  my  poor  girl." 

"  Not  so  well  as  I  do  her.  But  she  knows  I  hate  to  be  idle, 
and  love  to  do  these  bagatelles  for  her.  It  is  my  doing  from 
the  first,  not  hers ;  she  did  not  even  know  I  could  do  it  till  I 
produced  two  dresses  for  the  Hunt's  ball.  So,  you  see — " 

"That  is  another  matter;  all  ladies  play  at  work.  But 
you  are  in  for  three  mont/is'  hard  labor.  Look  at  that  heap 
of  vanity.  She  is  making  a  lady's-maid  of  you.  It  is  un- 
just. It  is  selfish.  It  is  improper.  It  is  not  for  my  credit, 
of  which  I  am  more  jealous  than  coquettes  are  of  theirs ; 
besides,  Lucy,  you  must  not  think,  because  I  don't  make  a 
parade  as  she  does,  that  I  am  not  fond  of  you.  I  have  a 
great  deal  more  real  affection  for  you  than  she  has,  and  so 
you  will  find  if  we  are  ever  put  to  the  test." 

At  this  last  absurdity  Mrs.  Bazalgette  burst  out  laughing. 
But  "la  ruse'e  sans  le  savoir"  turned  toward  the  speaker, 
and  saw  that  he  spoke  with  a  certain  emotion  which  was 
not  ordinary  in  him.  She  instantly  went  to  him  with  both 
hands  gracefully  extended.  "I  do  think  you  have  an  affec- 
tion for  me.  If  you  really  have,  show  it  me  some  other  way, 
and  not  by  making  me  unhappy." 

"  Well,  then,  I  will,  Lucy.  Look  here :  if  Solomon  was 
such  a  fool  as  to  argue  with  one  of  you  young  geese,  you 
would  shut  his  mouth  in  a  minute.  There,  I  am  going ; 
but  you  will  always  be  the  slave  of  one  selfish  person  or 
other ;  you  were  born  for  it." 

Thus  impotently  growling,  the  merchant  prince  retired 
from  the  field,  escorted  with  amenity  by  the  courtier.  In 
the  passage  she  suddenly  dropped  forward  like  a  cypress- 
tree,  and  gave  him  her  forehead  to  kiss.  He  kissed  it  with 
some  little  warmth,  and  confided  to  her,  in  friendly  accents, 
that  she  was  a  fool,  and  off  he  went,  grumbling  inarticulately, 
to  his  foreign  loans  and  things. 

The  courtier  returned  to  smooth  her  aunt  in  turn,  but 
that  lady  stopped  her  with  a  lofty  gesture. 

"  My  plan  is  to  look  on  these  monstrosities  as  horrid 
dreams,  and  go  on  as  if  nothing  had  happened." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         225 

Happy  philosophy. 

Lucy  acquiesced  with  a  smile,  and  in  an  instant  both  im- 
mortal souls  plunged  and  disappeared  in  silk,  satin,  feathers, 
and  point  lace. 

The  afternoon  post  brought  letters  that  furnished  some 
excitement.  Mr.  Hardie  announced  his  return,  and  Captain 
Kenealy  accepted  an  invitation  that  had  been  sent  to  him  two 
days  before.  But  this  was  not  all.  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  with 
something  between  a  laugh  and  a  crow,  handed  Lucy  a  let- 
ter from  Mr.  Fountain,  in  which  that  diplomatic  gentleman 
availed  himself  of  her  kind  invitation,  and  with  elephantine 
playfulness  proposed,  as  he  could  not  stay  a  month  with 
her,  to  be  permitted  to  bring  a  friend  with  him  for  a  fort- 
night :  this  friend  had  unfortunately  missed  her  through 
absence  from  his  country-house  at  the  period  of  her  visit  to 
Font  Abbey,  and  had  so  constantly  regretted  his  ill  fortune 
that  he  (Fountain)  had  been  induced  to  make  this  attempt 
to  repair  the  calamity.  His  friend's  name  was  Talboys ;  he 
was  a  gentleman  of  lineage,  and  in  his  numerous  travels  had 
made  a  collection  of  foreign  costumes  which  were  really 
worth  inspecting,  and,  if  agreeable  to  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  he 
should  send  them  on  before  by  wagon,  for  no  carriage  would 
hold  them. 

Lucy  colored  on  reading  this  letter,  for  it  repeated  a  false 
hood  that  had  already  made  her  blush.  The  next  moment, 
remembering  how  very  keenly  her  aunt  must  be  eyeing  her, 
and  reading  her,  she  looked  straight  before  her,  and  said 
coldly,  "  Uncle  Fountain  ought  to  be  welcome  here  for  his 
courtesy  to  you  at  Font  Abbey,  but  I  think  he  takes  rather 
a  liberty  in  proposing  a  stranger  to  you." 

"  Rather  a  liberty  ?  say  a  very  great  liberty." 

"  Well,  then,  aunt,  why  not  write  back  that  any  friend 
of  his  would  be  welcome,  but  that  the  house  is  full  ?  You 
have  only  room  for  Uncle  Fountain." 

"  But  that  is  not  true,  Lucy,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  with 
sudden  dignity. 

K  2 


226         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Lucy  was  staggered  and  abashed  at  this  novel  objection ; 
recovering,  she  whined  humbly,  "  But  it  is  very  nearly  true." 

It  was  plain  Lucy  did  not  want  Mr.  Talboys  to  visit 
them.  This  decided  Mrs.  Bazalgette  to  let  his  dresses  and 
him  come.  He  would  only  be  a  foil  to  Mr.  Hardie,  and 
perhaps  bring  him  on  faster.  Her  decision  once  made  on 
the  above  grounds,  she  conveyed  it  in  characteristic  colors. 
"No,  my  love;  where  I  give  my  affection,  there  I  give  my 
confidence.  I  have  your  word  not  to  encourage  this  gentle- 
man's addresses,  so  why  hurt  your  uncle's  feelings  by  clos- 
ing my  door  to  his  friend?  It  would  be  an  ill  compliment 
to  you  as  well  as  to  Mr.  Fountain ;  he  shall  come." 

Her  postscript  to  Mr.  Fountain  ran  thus : 

"Your  friend  would  have  been  welcome  independently 
of  the  foreign  costumes ;  but,  as  I  am  a  very  candid  little 
woman,  I  may  as  well  tell  you  that  now  you  have  excited 
my  curiosity,  he  will  be  a  great  deal  more  welcome  with 
them  than  without  them." 

And  here  I  own  that  I,  the  simple-minded,  should  never 
have  known  all  that  was  signified  in  these  words  but  for  the 
comment  of  John  Fountain,  Esq. 

"  It  is  all  right,  Talboys,"  said  he.  "  My  bait  has  taken. 
You  must  pack  up  these  jimcracks  at  once  and  send  them 
off,  or  she'll  smile  like  a  marble  Satan  in  your  face,  and 
stick  you  full  of  pins  and  needles." 

The  next  day  Mr.  Bazalgette  walked  into  the  room, 
haughtily  overlooked  the  pyramid  of  dresses,  and  asked 
Lucy  to  come  down  stairs  and  see  something.  She  put  her 
work  aside,  and  went  down  with  him,  and  lo !  two  ponies — 
a  cream-colored  and  a  bay.  "  Oh,  you  loves !"  cried  the 
virgin,  passionately,  and  blushed  with  pleasure.  Her  heart 
was  very  accessible — to  quadrupeds. 

"Now  you  are  to  choose  which  of  these  you  will  have." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Bazalgette !" 

"  Have  you  forgotten  what  you  told  me?  '  Try  and  make 
me  happy  some  other  way,'  says  you.  Now  I  remembered 
hearing  you  say  what  a  nice  pony  you  had  at  Font  Abbey ; 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  227 

so  I  sent  a  capable  person  to  collect  ponies  for  you.  These 
have  both  a  reputation.  Which  will  you  have  T' 

"  Dear,  good,  kind  uncle  Bazalgette  ;  they  are  ducks !" 

"Let  us  hope  not ;  a  duck's  paces  won't  suit  you,  if  you 
are  as  fond  of  galloping  as  other  younp-  ladies.  Come, 
jump  up,  and  see  which  is  the  best  brute  of  the  two." 

"  What,  without  my  habit  f ' 

"Well,  get  your  habit  on,  then.  Let  us  see  how  quick 
you  can  be." 

Off  ran  Lucy,  and  soon  returned  fully  equipped.  She 
mounted  the  ponies  in  turn,  and  rode  them  each  a  mile  or 
two  in  short  distances.  Finally  she  dismounted,  and  stood 
beaming  on  the  steps  of  the  hall.  The  groom  held  the  po- 
nies for  final  judgment. 

"  The  bay  is  rather  the  best  goer,  dear,"  said  she,  timidly. 

"  Miss  Fountain  chooses  the  bay,  Tom." 

"  No,  uncle,  I  was  going  to  ask  you  if  I  might  have  the 
cream-colored  one :  he  is  so  pretty." 

"  Ha !  ha !  ha !  here's  a  little  goose.  Why,  they  are  to 
ride,  not  to  wear.  Come,  I  see  you  are  in  a  difficulty. 
Take  them  both  to  the  stable,  Tom." 

"  No,  no,  no,"  cried  Lucy.  "  Oh,  Mr.  Bazalgette,  don't 
tempt  me  to  be  so  wicked."  Then  she  put  both  her  fingers 
in  her  ears  and  screamed,  "Take  the  bay  darling  out  of 
my  sight,  and  leave  the  cream-colored  love."  And  as  she 
persisted  in  this  order,  with  her  fingers  in  her  ears,  and  an 
inclination  to  stamp  with  her  little  feet,  the  bay  disappeared, 
and  color  won  the  day. 

Then  she  dropped  suddenly  like  a  cypress  toward  Mr. 
Bazalgette,  which  meant  "  you  can  kiss  me."  This  time  it 
was  her  cheek  she  proffered,  all  glowing  with  exercise  and 
innocent  excitement. 

Captain  Kenealy  was  the  first  arrival :  a  well-appointed 
soldier ;  eyes  equally  bright  under  calm  and  excitement ; 
mustache  always  clean  and  glossy  ;  power  of  assent  prodig- 
ious. He  looked  so  warlike,  and  was  so  inoffensive,  that 


228         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

he  was  in  great  request  for  miles  and  miles  round  the  garri- 
son town  of .  The  girls,  at  first  introduction  to 

him,  admired  him,  and  waited  palpitating  to  be  torn  from 
their  mammas,  and  carried  half  by  persuasion,  half  by  force, 
to  their  conqueror's  tent ;  but  after  a  bit  they  always  found 
him  out,  and  talked  before,  and  at,  and  across  this  orna- 
ment as  if  it  had  been  a  bronze  Mars,  or  a  mustache-tipped 
shadow.  This  the  men  viewing  from  a  little  distance  en- 
vied the  gallant  captain,  and  they  might  just  as  well  have 
been  jealous  of  a  hair-dresser's  dummy. 

One  eventful  afternoon,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  and  Miss  Fount- 
ain walked  out,  taking  the  gallant  captain  between  them  as 
escort.  Reginald  hovered  on  the  rear.  Kenealy  was  charm- 
ingly equipped,  and  lent  the  party  a  lustre.  If  he  did  not 
contribute  much  to  the  conversation,  he  did  not  interrupt  it, 
for  the  ladies  talked  through  him  as  if  he  had  been  a  column 
of  red  air.  Sing,  muse,  how  often  Kenealy  said  "yaas"  that 
afternoon;  on  second  thoughts,  don't!  I  can  weary  my 
readers  without  celestial  aid.  Toot!  toot!  toot!  went  a 
cheerful  horn,  and  the  mail-coach  came  into  sight  round  a 
corner,  and  rolled  rapidly  toward  them.  Lucy  looked  anx- 
iously round,  and  warned  Master  Reginald  of  the  danger 
now  impending  over  infants.  The  terrible  child  went  in- 
stantly (on  the  "  vitantes  stulti  vitia"  principle)  clean  off  the 
road  altogether  into  the  ditch,  and  clayed  (not  pipe)  his 
trowsers  to  the  knee.  As  the  coach  passed,  a  gentleman 
on  the  box  took  off  his  hat  to  the  ladies  and  made  other 
signs.  It  was  Mr.  Hardie. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  proposed  to  return  home  to  receive  him. 
They  were  about  a  mile  from  the  house.  They  had  not 
gone  far  before  the  rear-guard  intermitted  blackberrying  for 
an  instant,  and  uttered  an  eldrich  screech ;  then  proclaimed, 
"  Another  coach !  another  coach  !"  It  was  a  light  break 
coming  gently  along,  with  two  showy  horses  in  it,  and  a 
pony  trotting  behind. 

At  one  and  the  same  moment  Lucy  recognized  a  four- 
footed  darling,  and  the  servant  recognized  her.  He  drew 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG.  229 

up,  touched  his  hat,  and  inquired  respectfully  whether  he 
was  going  right  for  Mr.  Bazalgette's.  Mrs.  Bazalgette  gave 
him  directions  while  Lucy  was  patting  the  pony,  and  show- 
ering on  him  those  ardent  terms  of  endearment  some  ladies 
bestow  on  their  lovers,  but  this  one  consecrated  to  her  trust- 
ees and  quadrupeds.  In  the  break  were  saddles,  and  a  side- 
saddle, and  other  caparisons,  and  a  giant  box:  the  ladies 
looked  first  at  it,  and  then  through  Kenealy  at  one  another, 
and  so  settled  what  was  inside  that  box. 

They  had  not  walked  a  furlong  before  a  traveling-car- 
riage and  four  horses  came  dashing  along,  and  heads  were 
put  out  of  the  window,  and  the  post-boys  ordered  to  stop. 
Mr.  Talboys  and  Mr.  Fountain  got  out,  and  the  carriage 
was  sent  on.  Introductions  took  place.  Mrs.  Bazalgette 
felt  her  spirits  rise  like  a  veteran's  when  line  of  battle  is 
being  formed.  She  was  one  of  those  ladies  who  are  agree- 
able or  disagreeable  at  will.  She  decided  to  charm,  and 
she  threw  her  enchantment  over  Messrs.  Fountain  and  Tal- 
boys. Coming  with  hostile  views,  and  therefore  guilty  con- 
sciences, they  had  expected  a  cold  welcome.  They  received 
a  warm,  gay,  and  airy  one.  After  a  while  she  manoeuvred 
so  as  to  get  between  Mr.  Fountain  and  Captain  Kenealy, 
and  leave  Lucy  to  Mr.  Talboys.  She  gave  her  such  a  sly 
look  as  she  did  it.  It  implied,  "  You  will  have  to  tell  me 
all  he  says  to  you  while  we  are  dressing." 

Mr.  Talboys  inquired  who  was  Captain  Kenealy.  He 
learned  by  her  answer  that  that  officer  had  arrived  to-day, 
and  she  had  no  previous  acquaintance  with  him. 

Whatever  little  embarrassment  Lucy  might  feel,  remem- 
bering her  equestrian  performance  with  Mr.  Talboys  and  its 
cause,  she  showed  none.  She  began  about  the  pony,  and 
how  kind  of  him  it  was  to  bring  it.  "And  yet,"  said  she, 
"  if  I  had  known,  I  would  not  have  allowed  you  to  take 
the  trouble,  for  I  have  a  pony  here." 

Mr.  Talboys  was  sorry  for  that,  but  he  hoped  she  would 
ride  his  now  and  then,  all  the  same. 

"  Oh !  of  course.  My  pony  here  is  very  pretty.  But  a 
new  friend  is  not  like  an  old  friend." 


230  LOVE   MB   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME   LONG. 

Mr.  Talboys  was  gratified  on  more  accounts  than  one  by 
this  speech.  It  gave  him  a  sense  of  security.  She  had  no 
friend  about  her  now  she  had  known  as  long  as  she  had 
him,  and  those  three  months  of  constant  intimacy  placed 
him  above  competition.  His  mind  was  at  ease,  and  he  felt 
he  could  pop  with  a  certainty  of  success,  and  pop  he  would, 
too,  without  any  unnecessary  delay. 

The  party  arrived  in  great  content  and  delectation  at  the 
gates  that  led  to  the  house.  "  Stay !"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette ; 
"  you  must  come  across  the  way,  all  of  you.  Here  is  a  view 
that  all  our  guests  are  expected  to  admire.  Those  that  cry 
out  'charming!  beautiful!  oh,  I  never!'  we  take  them  in 
and  make  them  comfortable.  Those  that  won't  or  can't 
ejaculate — »" 

"  You  put  them  in  damp  beds,"  said  Mr.  Fountain,  only 
half  in  jest. 

"  Worse  than  that,  sir — we  flirt  with  them,  and  disturb 
the  placid  current  of  their  hearts  forever  and  ever.  Don't 
we,  Lucy  f 

"  You  know  best,  aunt,"  said  Lucy,  half  malice,  half 
pout.  The  others  followed  the  gay  lady,  and  when  the 
view  burst,  ejaculated  to  order. 

But  Mr.  Fountain  stood  ostentatiously  in  the  middle  of 
the  road,  with  his  legs  apart,  like  him  of  Rhodes.  "  I  choose 
the  alternative,"  cried  he.  "  Sooner  than  pretend  I  admire 
sixteen  plowed  fields  and  a  hill  as  much  as  I  do  a  lawn  and 
flower-beds,  I  elect  to  be  flirted,  and  my  what  do  ye  call 
'em? — my  stagnant  current  —  turned  into  a  whirlpool." 
Ere  the  laugh  had  well  subsided,  caused  by  this  imitation 
of  Hercules  and  his  choice,  he  struck  up  again,  "Good  news 
for  you,  young  gentleman  ;  I  smell  a  ball ;  here  is  a  fiddle- 
case  making  for  this  hospitable  mansion." 

"  No,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  "  I  never  ordered  any  mu- 
sician to  come  here." 

A  tall  but  active  figure  came  walking  light  as  a  feather, 
with  a  large  carpet-bag  on  his  back,  a  boy  behind  tarrying 
a  violin-case. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         231 

Lucy  colored  and  lowered  her  eyes,  but  never  said  a  word. 

The  young  man  came  up  to  the  gate,  and  then  Mr.  Tal- 
boys  recognized  him.  He  hesitated  a  single  moment,  then 
turned  and  came  to  the  group,  and  took  off  his  hat  to  the 
ladies.  It  was  David  Dodd ! 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  new  guest's  manner  of  presenting  himself  with  his 
stick  over  his  shoulder  and  his  carpet-bag  on  his  back,  sub- 
jected him  to  a  battery  of  stares  from  Kenealy,  Talboys, 
Fountain,  and  abashed  him  sore. 

This  lasted  but  a  moment.  He  had  one  friend  in  the 
group,  who  was  too  true  to  her  flirtations  while  they  en- 
dured, and  too  strong-willed  to  let  her  flirtee  be  discouraged 
by  mortal. 

"  Why,  it  is  Mr.  Dodd,"  cried  she,  with  enthusiasm,  and 
she  put  forth  both  hands  to  him,  the  palms  downward,  with 
a  smiling  grace.  "  Surely  you  know  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  she, 
turning  round  quickly  to  the  gentlemen  with  a  smile  on  her 
lip,  but  a  dangerous  devil  in  her  eye. 

The  mistress  of  the  house  is  all  powerful  on  these  occa- 
sions. Messrs.  Talboys  and  Fountain  were  forced  to  do  the 
amiable,  raging  within;  Lucy  anticipated  them;  but  her 
•welcome  was  a  cold  one.  Says  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  tenderly, 
"  And  why  do  you  carry  that  heavy  bag,  when  you  have 
that  great  stout  lad  with  you?  I  think  it  is  his  business 
to  carry  it,  not  yours;"  and  her  eye  scathed  the  boy,  fiddle 
and  all. 

All  the  time  she  was  saying  this  David  was  winking  to 
her,  and  making  faces  to  her  not  to  go  on  that  tack.  His 
conduct  now  explained  his  pantomine.  "  Here,  youngster," 
said  he,  "you  take  these  things  in-doors,  and  here  is  your 
half  crown." 

Lucy  averted  her  head,  and  smiled  unobserved. 

As  soon  as  the  lad  was  out  of  hearing,  David  continued, 


232  LOVB   ME   LITTLE,    LOVE   ME   LOKG. 

"  It  was  not  worth  while  to  mortify  him.  The  fact  is,  I 
hired  him  to  carry  it ;  but,  bless  you,  the  first  mile  he  be- 
gan to  go  down  by  the  head,  and  would  have  foundered ;  so 
we  shifted  our  cargoes."  This  amused  Kenealy,  who  laugh- 
ed good-humoredly  :  on  this,  David  laughed  for  company. 

"  There,"  cried  his  inamorata,  with  rapture,  "  that  is  Mr. 
Dodd  all  over ;  thinks  of  every  body,  high  or  low,  before 
himself."  There  was  a  grunt  somewhere  behind  her ;  her 
quick  ear  caught  it ;  she  turned  round  like  a  thing  on  a 
pivot,  and  slapped  the  nearest  face  :  it  happened  to  be  Fount- 
ain's ;  so  she  continued  with  such  a  treacle  smile,  "  Don't 
you  remember,  sir,  how  he  used  to  teach  your  cub  mathe- 
matics gratis?"  The  sweet  smile  and  the  keen  contempo- 
raneous scratch  confounded  Mr.  Fountain  for  a  second.  As 
soon  as  he  revived  he  said  stiffly,  "  We  can  all  appreciate 
Mr.  Dodd." 

Having  thus  established  her  Adonis  on  a  satisfactory 
footing,  she  broke  out  all  over  graciousness  again,  and, 
smiling  and  chatting,  led  her  guests  beneath  the  hospitable 
roof. 

But  one  of  these  guests  did  not  respond  to  her  cheerful 
strain.  The  Norman  knight  was  full  of  bitterness.  Mr. 
Talboys  drew  his  friend  aside  and  proposed  to  him  to  go 
back  again.  The  senior  was  aghast.  "  Don't  be  so  pre- 
cipitate," was  all  that  he  could  urge  this  time.  "  Confound 
the  fellow !  Yes,  if  that  is  the  man  she  prefers  to  you,  I 
will  go  home  with  you  to-morrow,  and  the  vile  hussy  shall 
never  enter  my  doors  again." 

In  this  mind  the  pair  went  devious  to  their  dressing- 
rooms. 

One  day  a  witty  woman  said  of  a  man  that  "  he  played 
the  politician  about  turnips  and  cabbages."  That  might  be 
retorted  (by  a  snob  and  brute)  on  her  own  sex  in  general, 
and  upon  Mrs.  Bazalgette  in  particular.  This  sweet  lady 
manoeuvred  on  a  carpet  like  Marlborough  on  the  south  of 
France.  She  was  brimful  of  resources,  and  they  all  tended 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.        233 

toward  one  sacred  object,  getting  her  own  way.  She  could 
be  imperious  at  a  pinch,  and  knock  down  opposition ;  but 
she  liked  far  better  to  undermine  it,  dissolve  it,  or  evade  it. 
She  was  too  much  of  a  woman  to  run  straight  to  her  je-le- 
veux  so  long  as  she  could  wind  thitherward  serpentinely 
and  by  detour.  She  could  have  said  to  Mr.  Hardie,  "  You 
will  take  down  Lucy  to  dinner,"  and  to  Mr.  Dodd,  "  You 
will  sit  next  me ;"  but  no,  she  must  mould  her  males — as 
per  sample. 

To  Mr.  Fountain  she  said,  "  Your  friend,  I  hear,  is  of  old 
family." 

"  Came  in  with  the  Conqueror,  madam." 

"  Then  he  shall  take  me  down :  that  will  be  the  first  step 
toward  conquering  me — ha !  ha !"  Fountain  bowed,  well 
pleased. 

To  Mr.  Hardie  she  said,  "Will  you  take  down  Lucy  to- 
day? I  see  she  enjoys  your  conversation.  Observe  how 
disinterested  I  am." 

Hardie  consented  with  twinkling  composure. 

Before  dinner  she  caught  Kenealy,  drew  him  aside,  and 
put  on  a  long  face.  "  I  am  afraid  I  must  lose  you  to-day 
at  dinner.  Mr.  Dodd  is  quite  a  stranger,  and  they  all  tell 
me  I  must  put  him  at  his  ease." 

"  Yaas." 

"  Well,  then,  you  had  better  get  next  Lucy,  as  you  can't 
have  me." 

"  Yaas." 

"  And,  Captain  Kenealy,  you  are  my  aid-de-camp.  It  is 
a  delightful  post,  you  know,  and  rather  a  troublesome  one." 

"  Yaas." 

"  You  must  help  me  be  kind  to  this  sailor." 

"  Yaas.  He  is  a  good  fellaa :  carried  the  baeg  for  the 
little  caed." 

"Oh,  did  he?" 

"  And  didn't  maind  been  laughed  at." 

"  Now  that  shows  how  intelligent  you  must  be,"  said  the 
wily  one :  "  the  -others  could  not  comprehend  the  trait. 


234  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"Well,  you  and  I  must  patronize  him.  Merit  is  always  so 
dreadfully  modest." 

"Yaas." 

This  arrangement  was  admirable,  but  human  ;  conse- 
quently, not  without  a  flaw.  Uncle  Fountain  was  left  to 
chance,  like  the  flying  atoms  of  Epicurus,  and  chance  put 
him  at  Bazalgette's  right  hand  save  one.  From  this  point 
his  inquisitive  eye  commanded  David  Dodd  and  Mrs.  Ba- 
zalgette,  and  raked  Lucy  and  her  neighbors,  who  were  on 
the'opposite  side  of  the  table.  People  who  look,  bent  on 
seeing  every  thing  generally  see  something;  item,  it  is  not 
always  what  they  would  like  to  see. 

As  they  retired  to  rest  for  the  night,  Mr.  Fountain  in- 
vited his  friend  to  his  room. 

"  We  shall  not  have  to  go  home.  I  have  got  the  key  to 
our  antagonist.  Young  Dodd  is  her  lover."  Talboys  shook 
his  head  with  cool  contempt.  "  What  I  mean  is  that  she 
has  invited  him  for  her  own  amusement,  not  her  niece's.  I 
never  saw  a  woman  throw  herself  at  any  man's  head  as  she 
did  at  that  sailor's  all  dinner.  Her  very  husband  saw  it. 
He  is  a  cool  hand,  that  Bazalgette ;  he  only  grinned,  and 
took  wine  with  the  sailor.  He  has  seen  a  good  many  go 
the  same  road — soldiers,  sailors,  tinkers,  tai — " 

Talboys  interrupted  him.  "I  really  must  call  you  to 
order.  You  are  prejudiced  against  poor  Mrs.  Bazalgette, 
and  prejudice  blinds  every  body.  Politeness  required  that 
she  should  show  some  attention  to  her  neighbor,  but  her 
principal  attention  was  certainly  not  bestowed  on  Mr. 
Dodd." 

Fountain  was  surprised.     "  On  whom,  then  ?" 

"  Well,  to  tell  the  truth,  on  your  humble  servant." 

Fountain  stared.  "  I  observed  she  did  not  neglect  you  ; 
but  when  she  turned  to  Dodd  her  face  puckered  itself  into 
smiles  like  a  bag." 

"  I  did  not  see  it,  and  I  was  nearer  her  than  you,"  said 
Talboys,  coldly. 

"  But  I  was  in  front  of  her." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         235 

"Yes,  a  mile  off."  There  being  no  jurisconsult  present 
to  explain  to  these  two  magistrates  that  if  fifty  people  don't 
see  a  woman  pucker  her  face  like  a  bag,  and  one  does  see 
her  p.  h.  f.  1.  a.  b.,  the  affirmative  evidence  preponderates, 
they  were  very  near  coming  to  a  quarrel  on  this  grave 
point.  It  was  Fountain  who  made  peace.  He  suddenly 
remembered  that  his  friend  had  never  been  known  to  change 
an  opinion.  "Well,"  said  he,  "let  us  leave  that;  we  shall 
have  other  opportunities  of  watching  Dodd  and" her;  mean- 
time I  am  sorry  I  can  not  convince  you  of  my  good  news, 
for  I  have  some  bad  to  balance  it.  You  have  a  rival,  and 
he  did  n<5t  sit  next  Mrs.  Bazalgette." 

"  Pray  may  I  ask  whom  he  did  sit  next  ?"  sneered  Tal- 
boys. 

"  He  sat — like  a  man  who  meant  to  win — by  the  girl 
herself." 

"  Oh !  then  it  is  that  sing-song  captain  you  fear,  sir  ?" 
drawled  Talboys. 

"No,  sir,  no  more  than  I  dread  the  epergne.  Try  the 
other  side." 

"  What,  Mr.  Hardie  ?     Why,  he  is  a  banker." 

"  And  a  rich  one." 

"  She  would  never  marry  a  banker." 

"  Perhaps  not,  if  she  were  uninfluenced  ;  but  we  are  not 
at  Talboys  Court  or  Font  Abbey  now.  We  have  fallen 
into  a  den  ofparvenues.  That  Hardie  is  a  great  catch,  ac* 
cording  to  their  views,  and  all  Mrs.  Bazalgette's  influence 
with  Lucy  will  be  used  in  his  favor." 

"I  think  not.     She  spoke  quite  slightingly  of  him  to  me." 

"  Did  she  ?  then  that  puts  the  matter  quite  beyond  doubt. 
Why  should  she  speak  slightingly  of  him?  Bazalgette 
spoke  to  me  of  him  with  grave  veneration.  He  is  hand- 
some, well-behaved,  and  the  girl  talked  to  him  nineteen  to 
the  dozen.  Mrs.  Bazalgette  could  not  be  sincere  in  under- 
rating himr  She  undervalued  him  to  throw  dust  in  your 
eyes." 

"  It  is  not  so  easy  to  throw  dust  in  my  eyes." 


236         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  I  don't  say  it  is ;  but  this  woman  will  do  it ;  she  is  as 
artful  as  a  fox.  She  hoodwinked  even  me  for  a  moment. 
I  really  did  not  see  through  her  feigned  politeness  in  letting 
you  take  her  down  to  dinner." 

"  You  mistake  her  character  entirely.  She  is  coquet- 
tish, and  not  so  well  bred  as  her  niece,  but  artful  she  is  not. 
In  fact,  there  is  almost  a  childish  frankness  about  her." 

At  this  stroke  of  observation  Fountain  burst  out  laugh- 
ing bitterly: 

Talboys  turned  pale  with  suppressed  ire,  and  went  on 
doggedly,  "  You  are  mistaken  in  every  particular.  Mrs. 
Bazalgette  has  no  fixed  views  for  her  niece,  and  I  by  no 
means  despair  of  winning  her  to  my  side.  She  is  any  thing 
but  discouraging." 

Fountain  groaned. 

"  Mr.  Hardie  is  a  new  acquaintance,  and  Miss  Fountain 
told  me  herself  she  preferred  old  friends  to  new.  She  looked 
quite  conscious  as  she  said  it.  In  a  word,  Mr.  Dodd  is  the 
only  rival  I  have  to  fear — good-night ;"  and  he  went  out 
with  a  stately  wave  of  the  hand,  like  royalty  declining  far- 
ther conference.  Mr.  Fountain  sank  into  an  arm-chair, 
and  muttered  feebly,  "  Good-night."  There  he  sat  collapsed 
till  his  friend's  retiring  steps  were  heard  no  more;  then, 
springing  wildly  to  his  feet,  he  relieved  his  swelling  mind 
with  a  long,  loud,  articulated  roar  of  Anglo-Saxon,  "  Fool ! 
dolt !  coxcomb !  noodle !  puppy !  ass  ! ! ! !" 

Did  ye  ever  read  "Tully  'de  AmicitiaT  " 

David  Dodd  was  saved  from  misery  by  want  of  vanity. 
His  reception  at  the  gate  by  Miss  Fountain  was  cool  and 
constrained,  but  it  did  not  wound  him.  For  the  last  month 
life  had  been  a  blank  to  him.  She  was  his  sun.  He  saw 
her  once  more,  and  the  bare  sight  filled  him  with  life  and 
joy.  His  was  naturally  a  sanguine,  contented  mind.  Some 
lovers  equally  ardent  would  have  seen  more  to  repine  at 
than  to  enjoy  in  the  whole  situation ;  not  so  David.  She 
sat  between  Kenealy  and  Hardie,  but  her  presence  filled  the 


237 

whole  room,  and  he  who  loved  her  better  than  any  other 
had  the  best  right  to  be  happy  in  the  place  that  held  her. 
He  had  only  to  turn  his  eyes,  and  he  could  see  her.  What 
a  blessing,  after  a  month  of  vacancy  and  darkness.  This 
simple  idolatry  made  him  so  happy  that  his  heart  over- 
flowed on  all  within  reach.  He  gave  Mrs.  Bazalgette  an- 
swers full  of  kindness  and  arch  gayety  combined.  He 
charmed  an  old  married  lady  on  his  right.  His  was  the 
gay,  the  merry  end  of  the  table,  and  others  wished  them- 
selves up  at  it. 

After  the  ladies  had  retired,  his  narrative  powers,  bon- 
hommie,  and  manly  frankness  soon  told  upon  the  men,  and 
peals  of  genuine  laughter  echoed  up  to  the  very  drawing- 
room,  bringing  a  deputation  from  the  kitchen  to  the  key- 
hole, and  irritating  the  ladies  overhead,  who  sat  trickling 
faint  monosyllables  about  their  three  little  topics. 

Lucy  took  it  philosophically.  "  Now  those  are  the  good 
creatures  that  are  said  to  be  so  unhappy  without  us.  It 
was  a  weight  off  their  minds  when  the  door  closed  on  our 
retiring  forms — ha  !  ha !" 

"  It  was  a  restraint  taken  off  them,  my  dear,"  said  Mrs. 
Murdan,  a  starched  dowager,  stiffening  to  the  naked  eye  as 
she  spoke.  "  When  they  laugh  like  that  they  are  always 
saying  something  improper." 

"  Oh  !  the  wicked  things,"  replied  Lucy,  mighty  calmly. 

"  I  wish  I  knew  what  they  are  saying,"  said  eagerly  an- 
other young  lady  ;  then  added,  "  Oh !"  and  blushed,  observ- 
ing her  error  mirrored  in  all  eyes. 

Lucy  the  Clement  instructed  her  out  of  the  depths  of  her 
own  experience  in  impropriety.  "  They  swear :  that  is 
what  Mrs.  Mordan  means,"  and  so  to  the  piano  with  dig- 
nity. 

Presently  in  came  Messrs.  Fountain  and  Talboys.  Mrs. 
Bazalgette  asked  the  former  a  little  crossly  how  he  could 
make  up  his  mind  to  leave  the  gay  party  down  stairs. 

"  Oh,  it  was  only  that  fellow  Dodd.  The  dog  is  certainly 
very  amusing,  but  '  there's  metal  more  attractive  here.'  " 


238  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

Coffee  and  tea  were  fired  down  at  the  other  gentlemen 
by  way  of  hints ;  but  Dodd  prevailed  over  all,  and  it  was 
nearly  bedtime  when  they  joined  the  ladies. 

Mr.  Talboys  had  an  hour  with  Lucy,  and  no  rival  by  to 
ruffle  him. 

Next  day  a  riding-party  was  organized.  Mr.  Talboys 
decided  in  his  mind  that  Kenealy  was  even  less  dangerous 
than  Hardie,  so  lent  him  the  quieter  of  his  two  nags,  and 
rode  a  hot,  rampageous  brute,  whose  very  name  was  Lucifer, 
so  that  will  give  you  an  idea.  The  grooms  had  driven  him 
with  a  kicking-strap  and  two  pair  of  reins,  and  even  so 
were  reluctant  to  drive  him  at  all,  but  his  steady  com- 
panion had  balanced  him  a  bit.  Lucy  was  to  ride  her 
old  pony,  and  Mrs.  Bazalgette  the  new.  The  horses  came 
to  the  door ;  one  of  the  grooms  offered  to  put  Lucy  up. 
Talboys  waved  him  loftily  back,  and  then,  strange  as  it  may 
appear,  David,  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  saw  a  gentleman 
lift  a  lady  into  the  saddle. 

Lucy  laid  her  right  hand  on  the  pommel  and  resigned  her 
left  foot ;  Mr.  Talboys  put  his  hand  under  that  foot,  and 
heaved  her  smoothly  into  the  saddle.  "That  is  clever," 
thought  simple  David ;  "  that  chap  has  got  more  pith  in 
his  arm  than  one  would  think."  They  cantered  away,  and 
left  him  looking  sadly  after  them.  It  seemed  so  hard  that 
another  man  should  have  her  sweet  foot  in  his  hand,  should 
lift  her  whole  glorious  person,  and  smooth  her  sacred  dress, 
and  he  stand  by  helpless ;  and  then  the  indifference  with 
which  that  man  had  done  it  all.  To  him  it  had  been  no 
sacred  pleasure,  no  great  privilege.  A  sense  of  loneliness 
struck  chill  on  David  as  the  clatter  of  her  pony's  hoofs  died 
away.  He  was  in  the  house ;  but  in  that  house  was  a  sort 
of  inner  circle,  of  which  she  was  the  centre,  and  he  was  to 
be  outside  it  altogether. 

Liable  to  great  wrath  upon  great  occasions,  he  had  littlo 
of  that  small  irritability  that  goes  with  an  egotistical  mind 
and  feminine  fibre,  so  he  merely  hung  his  head,  blamed 
nobody,  and  was  sad  in  a  manly  way.  While  he  leaned 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.          239 

against  the  portico  in  this  dejected  mood,  a  little  hand  pulled 
his  coat-tail.  It  was  Master  Reginald,  who  looked  up  in 
his  face,  and  said  timidly,  "  Will  you  play  with  me?"  The 
fact  is,  Mr.  Reginald's  natural  audacity  had  received  a  mo- 
mentary check.  He  had  just  put  this  same  question  to  Mr. 
Hardie  in  the  library,  and  had  been  rejected  with  ignominy, 
and  recommended  to  go  out  of  doors  for  his  own  health  and 
the  comfort  of  such  as  desired  peaceable  study  of  British 
and  foreign  intelligence." 

"  That  I  will,  my  little  gentleman,"  said  David,  "  if  1 
know  the  game." 

"  Oh,  I  don't  care  what  it  is,  so  that  it  is  fun.  What  is 
your  name  ?"  . 

"  David  Dodd." 

"  Oh." 

"  And  what  is  yours  ?" 

"  What,  don't — you — know  ?  ?  ?  Why,  Reginald  George 
Bazalgette.  I  am  seven.  I  am  the  eldest.  I  am  to  have 
more  money  than  the  others  when  papa  dies,  Jane  says.  I 
wonder  when  he  will  die." 

"  When  he  does  you  will  lose  his  love,  and  that  is  worth 
more  than  his  money ;  so  you  take  my  advice,  and  love  him 
dearly  while  you  have  got  him." 

"  Oh,  I  like  papa  very  well.  He  is  good-natured  all  day 
long.  Mamma  is  so  ill-tempered  till  dinner,  and  then  they 
won't  let  me  dine  with  her  ;  and  then,  as  soon  as  mamma 
has  begun  to  be  good-tempered  up  stairs  in  the  drawing- 
room,  my  bedtime  comes  directly ;  it's  abominable  !  !"  The 
last  word  rose  into  a  squeak  under  his  sense  of  wrong. 

David  smiled  kindly :  "  So  it  seems  we  all  have  our 
troubles,"  said  he. 

"What!  have  you  any  troubles?"  and  Reginald  opened 
his  eyes  in  wonder.  •  He  thought  size  was  an  armor  against 
care. 

"  Not  so  many  as  most  folk,  thank  God,  but  I  have  some," 
and  David  sighed. 

"  Why,  if  I  was  as  big  as  you,  I'd  have  no  troubles.     I'd 


240  LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

beat  every  body  that  troubled  me,  and  I  would  marry  Lucy 
directly;"  and  at  that  beloved  name  my  lord  falls  into  a 
reverie  ten  seconds  long. 

David  gave  a  start,  and  an  ejaculation  rose  to  his  lips. 
He  looked  down  with  comical  horror  upon  the  little  chubby 
imp  who  had  divined  his  thought. 

Mr.  Reginald  soon  undeceived  him.  "  She  is  to  be  my 
wife,  you  know.  Don't  you  think  she  will  make  a  capital 
one?"  Before  David  could  decide  this  point  for  him,  the 
kaleidoscopic  mind  of  the  terrible  infant  had  taken  another 
turn.  "  Come  into  the  stable-yard :  I'll  show  you  Tom," 
cried  young  master,  enthusiastically.  Finally,  David  had 
to  make  the  boy  a  kite.  When  made  it  took  two  hours  for 
the  paste  to  dry  ;  and  as  every  ten  minutes  spent  in  waiting 
eeemed  an  hour  to  one  of  Mr.  Reginald's  kidney,  as  the  En- 
glish classics  phrase  it,  he  was  almost  in  a  state  of  phrensy 
at  last,  and  flew  his  new  kite  with  yells.  But  after  a  bit 
he  missed  a  familiar  incident :  "  It  doesn't  tumble  down ; 
my  other  kites  all  tumble  down." 

"  More  shame  for  them,"  said  David,  with  a  dash  of  con- 
tempt, and  explained  to  him  that'tumbling  down  is  a  flaw 
in  a  kite,  just  as  foundering  at  sea  is  a  vile  habit  in  a  ship, 
and  that  each  of  these  descents,  however  picturesque  to 
childhood's  eye,  implies  a  construction  originally  defective^ 
or  some  little  subsequent  mismanagement.  It  appeared  by 
Reginald's  retort  that  when  his  kite  tumbled  he  had  the 
tumultuous  joy  of  flying  it  again,  but,  by  its  keeping  the 
air  like  this,  monotony  reigned ;  so  he  now  proposed  that 
his  new  friend  should  fasten  the  string  to  the  pump-handle, 
and  play  at  ball  with  him  beneath  the  kite.  The  good- 
natured  sailor  consented,  and  thus  the  little  voluptuary  se- 
cured a  terrestrial  and  ever-varying  excitement,  while  oc- 
casional glances  upward  soothed  him  with  the  mild  con- 
sciousness that  there  was  his  property  still  hovering  in  the 
empyrean ;  amid  all  which,  poor  love-sick  David  was  seized 
with  a  desire  to  hear  the  name  of  her  he  loved,  and  her 
praise,  even  from  these  small  lips.  "  So  you  are  very  fond 
of  Miss  Lucy?"  wvid  he. 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  241 

"  Yes,"  replied  Keginald,  dryly,  and  said  no  more ;  for  it 
is  a  characteristic  of  the  awfu'  bairn  to  be  mute  where  flu- 
ency is  required,  voluble  where  silence. 

"  I  wonder  why  you  love  her  so  much,"  said  David,  cun- 
ningly. Reginald's  face,  instead  of  brightening  with  the 
spirit  of  explanation,  became  instantly  lack-lustre  and  dough- 
like  ;  for  be  it  known,  to  the  everlasting  discredit  of  human 
nature,  that  his  affection  and  matrimonial  intentions,  as 
they  were  no  secret,  so  they  were  the  butt  of  satire  from 
grown-up  persons  of  both  sexes  in  the  house,  and  of  various 
social  grades :  down  to  the  very  gardener,  all  had  had  a 
fling  at  him.  But  soon  his  natural  cordiality  gained  the 
better  of  that  momentary  reserve.  "  Well,  I'll  tell  you," 
said  he,  "  because  you  have  behaved  well  all  day." 

David  was  all  expectation. 

"I  like  her  because  she  has  got  red  cheeks,  and  does 
whatever  one  asks  her." 

Oh,  breadth  of  statement !  Why  was  not  David  one  of 
your  repeaters'?  He  would  have  gone  and  told  Lucy.  I 
should  have  liked  her  to  know  in  what  grand  primitive 
colors  peach-bloom  and  queenly  courtesy  strike  what  Mr. 
Tennison  is  pleased  to  call  "  the  deep  mind  of  dauntless  in- 
fancy." But  David  Dodd  was  not  a  reporter,  and  so  I 
don't  get  my  way;  and  how  few  of  us  do?  not  even  Mr. 
Reginald,  whose  joyous  companionship  with  David  was  now 
blighted  by  a  footman.  At  sight  of  the  coming  plush, 
"There,  now!"  cried  Reginald.  He  anticipated  evil,  for 
messages  from  the  ruling  powers  were  nearly  always  ad- 
verse to  his  joys.  The  footman  came  to  say  that  his  mas- 
ter would  feel  obliged  if  Mr.  Dodd  would  step  into  his  study 
for  a  minute. 

David  went  immediately. 

"  There,  now!"  squeaked  Reginald,  rising  an  octave.  "I'm 
never  happy  for  two  hours  together."  This  was  true.  He 
omitted  to  add,  "  Nor  unhappy  for  one."  The  dear  child 
sought  comfort  in  retaliation ;  he  took  stones,  and  pelted 

L 


242  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

the  footman's  retiring  calves.  His  admirers,  if  any,  will  be 
glad  to  learn  that  this  act  of  intelligent  retribution  soothed 
his  deep  mind  a  little. 

Mr.  Bazalgette  had  been  much  interested  by  David's  con- 
versation the  last  night,  and,  hearing  he  was  not  with  the 
riding-party,  had  a  mind  to  chat  with  him.  David  found 
him  in  a  magnificent  study,  lined  with  books,  and  hung  with 
beautiful  maps  that  lurked  in  mahogany  cylinders  attached 
to  the  wall ;  and  you  pulled  them  out  by  inserting  a  brass- 
hooked  stick  into  their  rings,  and  hauling.  Mr.  Bazalgette 
began  by  putting  him  a  question  about  a  distant  port  to 
which  he  had  just  sent  out  some  goods.  David  gave  him 
full  information :  began,  seaman-like,  with  the  entrance  to 
the  harbor,  and  told  him  what  danger  his  captain  should 
look  out  for  in  running  in,  and  how  to  avoid  it;  and  from 
that  went  to  the  character  of  the  natives,  their  tricks  upon 
the  sailors,  their  habits,  tastes,  and  fancies,  and,  entering 
with  intelligence  into  his  companion's  business,  gave  him 
some  very  shrewd  hints  as  to  the  sort  of  cargo  that  would 
tempt  them  to  sell  the  very  rings  out  of  their  ears.  Suc- 
ceeding so  well  in  this,  Mr.  Bazalgette  plied  him  on  other 
points,  and  found  him  full  of  valuable  matter,  and,  by  a 
rare  union  of  qualities,  very  modest  and  very  frank.  "  Now 
I  like  this,"  said  Mr.  Bazalgette,  cheerfully.  "This  is  a 
return  to  old  customs.  A  century  or  two  ago,  you  know, 
the  merchant  and  the  captain  felt  themselves  parts  of  the 
same  stick,  and  they  used  to  sit  and  smoke  together  before 
a  voyage,  and  sup  together  after  one,  and  be  always  putting 
their  heads  together ;  but  of  late  the  stick  has  got  so  much 
longer,  and  so  many  knots  between  the  handle  and  the 
point,  that  we  have  quite  lost  sight  of  one  another.  Here 
we  merchants  sit  at  home  at  ease,  and  send  you  fine  fellows 
out  among  storms  and  waves,  and  think  more  of  a  bale  of 
cotton  spoiled  than  of  a  captain  drowned." 

David.  "  And  we  eat  your  bread,  sir,  as  if  it  dropped 
from  the  clouds,  and  quite  forget  whose  money  and  spirit 
of  enterprise  causes  the  ship  to  be  laid  on  the  stocks,  and 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  243 

then  built,  and  then  rigged,  and  then  launched,  and  then 
manned,  and  then  sailed  from  port  to  port." 

"  Well,  well,  if  you  eat  our  bread,  we  eat  your  labor,  your 
skill,  your  courage,  and  sometimes  your  lives,  I  am  sorry  to 
say.  Merchants  and  captains  ought  really  to  be  better  ac- 
quainted." 

"  Well,  sir,"  said  David,  "  now  you  mention  it,  you  are 
the  first  merchant  of  any  consequence  I  ever  had  the  advan- 
tage of  talking  with." 

"  The  advantage  is  mutual,  sir ;  you  have  given  me  one 
or  two  hints  I  could  not  have  got  from  fifty  merchants :  I 
mean  to  coin  you,  Captain  Dodd." 

David  laughed  and  blushed.  "  I  doubt  it  will  be  but 
copper  coin,  if  you  do.  But  I  am  not  a  captain ;  I  am 
only  first  mate." 

"  You  don't  say  so !     Why,  how  comes  that  ?" 

"Well,  sir,  I  went  to  sea  very  young,  but  I  wasted  a 
year  or  two  in  private  ventures.  When  I  say  wasted,  I 
picked  up  a  heap  of  knowledge  that  I  could  not  have  gained 
on  the  China  voyage,  but  it  has  lost  me  a  little  in  length  of 
standing ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  I  have  been  very  lucky ; 
it  is  not  every  one  that  gets  to  be  first  mate  ut  my  age ;  and 
after  next  voyage,  if  I  can  only  make  a  little  bit  of  interest, 
I  think  I  shall  be  a  captain.  No,  sir,  I  wish  I  was  a  cap- 
tain ;  I  never  wished  it  as  now  ;"  and  David  sighed  deeply. 

"  Humph !"  said  Mr.  Bazalgette,  and  took  a  note. 

He  then  showed  David  his  maps.  David  inspected  them 
with  almost  boyish  delight,  and  showed  the  merchant  the 
courses  of  ships  on  Eastern  and  Western  voyages,  and  ex- 
plained the  winds  and  currents  that  compelled  them  to  go 
one  road  and  return  another,  and  in  both  cases  to  go  so 
wonderfully  out  of  what  seems  the  track  as  they  do.  Bref, 
the  two  ends  of  the  mercantile  stick  came  nearer. 

"  My  study  is  always  open  to  you,  Mr.  Dodd,  and  I  hope 
you  will  not  let  a  day  pass  without  obliging  me  by  looking 
in  upon  me." 

David  thanked  him,  and  went  out  innocently  unconscious 


244          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONO. 

that  he  had  performed  an  unparalleled  feat.  In  the  hall  he 
met  Captain  Kenealy,  who,  having  received  orders  to  amuse 
him,  invited  him  to  play  at  billiards.  David  consented,  out 
of  good-nature,  to  please  Kenealy.  Thus  the  whole  day 
passed,  and  lesfacheux  would  not  let  him  get  a  word  with 
Lucy. 

At  dinner  he  was  separated  from  her,  and  so  hotly  and 
skillfully  engaged  by  Mrs.  Bazalgette  that  he  had  scarcely 
time  to  look  at  his  idol.  After  dinner  he  had  to  contest 
her  with  Mr.  Talboys  and  Mr.  Hardie,  the  latter  of  whom 
he  found  a  very  able  and  sturdy  antagonist.  Mr.  Hardie 
had  also  many  advantages  over  him.  First,  the  young  lady 
was  not  the  least  shy  of  Mr.  Hardie,  but  the  parting  scene 
beyond  Royston  had  put  her  on  her  guard  against  David, 
and  her  instinct  of  defense  made  her  reserved  with  him. 
Secondly,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  perpetually  making  diver- 
sions, whose  double  object  was  to  get  David  to  herself,  and 
leave  Lucy  to  Mr.  Hardie. 

With  all  this,  David  found,  to  his  sorrow,  that,  though 
he  now  lived  under  the  same  roof  with  her,  he  was  not  so 
near  her  as  at  Font  Abbey.  There  was  a  wall  of  etiquette 
and  of  rivals,  and,  as  he  now  began  to  fear,  of  her  own  dis- 
like between  them.  To  read  through  that  mighty  trans- 
parent jewel,  a  female  heart,  Nauta  had  recourse — to  what, 
do  you  think  ?  to  arithmetic.  He  set  to  work  to  count  how 
many  times  she  spoke  to  each  of  the  party  in  the  drawing- 
room,  and  he  found  that  Mr.  Hardie  was  at  the  head  of  the 
list,  and  he  was  at  the  bottom.  That  might  be  an  acci- 
dent ;  perhaps  this  was  his  black  evening ;  so  he  counted 
her  speeches  the  next  evening :  the  result  was  the  same. 
Droll  statistics,  but  sad  and  convincing  to  the  simple  David. 
His  spirits  failed  him ;  his  aching  heart  turned  cold.  He 
withdrew  from  the  gay  circle,  and  sat  sadly  with  a  book  of 
prints  before  him,  and  turned  the  leaves  listlessly.  In  a 
pause  of  the  conversation  a  sigh  was  heard  in  the  corner. 
They  all  looked  round,  and  saw  David  all  by  himself,  turn- 
ing over  the  leaves,  but  evidently  not  inspecting  them. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  245 

A  sort  of  flash  of  satirical  curiosity  went  from  eye  to  eye. 

But  tact  abounded  at  one  end  of  the  room,  if  there  was 
a  dearth  of  it  at  the  other. 

La  rusee  sans  le  savoir  made  a  sign  to  them  all  to  take  no 
notice ;  at  the  same  time  she  whispered,  "  Going  to  sea  in 
a  few  days  for  two  yeai's ;  the  thought  will  return  now  and 
then."  Having  said  this  with  a  look  at  her  aunt,  that, 
Heaven  knows  how,  gave  the  others  the  notion  that  it  was 
to  Mrs.  Bazalgette  she  owed  the  solution  of  David's  fit  of 
sadness,  she  glided  easily  into  indifferent  topics.  So  then  the 
others  had  a  momentary  feeling  of  pity  for  David.  Miss 
Lucy  noticed  this  out  of  the  tail  of  her  eye. 

That  night  David  went  to  bed  thoroughly  wretched.  He 
could  not  sleep,  so  he  got  up  and  paced  the  deck  of  his  room 
with  a  heavy  heart.  At  last,  in  his  despair,  he  said,  "  I'll 
fire  signals  of  distress."  So  he  sat  down  and  took  a  sheet 
of  paper,  and  fired :  "  Nothing  has  turned  as  I  expected. 
She  treats  me  like  a  stranger.  I  seem  to  drop  astern  in- 
stead of  making  any  way.  Here  are  three  of  us,  I  do  be- 
lieve, and  all  seem  preferred  to  your  poor  brother;  and, 
indeed,  the  only  thing  that  gives  me  any  hope  is  that  she 
seems  too  kind  to  be  in  earnest,  for  it  is  not  in  her  an- 
gelic nature  to  be  really  unkind;  and  what  have  I  done? 
Eve,  dear,  such  a  change  from  what  she  was  at  Font  Abbey, 
and  that  happy  evening  when  she  came  and  drank  tea  with 
us,  and  lighted  our  little  garden  up,  and  won  your  heart, 
that  was  always  a  little  set  against  her.  Now  it  is  so  dif- 
ferent that  I  sit  and  ask  myself  whether  all  that  is  not  a 
dream.  Can  any  one  change  so  in  one  short  month?  I 
could  not.  But  who  knows  ?  perhaps  I  do  her  wrong.  You 
know  I  never  could  read  her  at  home  without  your  help, 
and,  dear  Eve,  I  miss  you  now  from  my  side  most  sadly. 
Without  you  I  seem  to  be  adrift,  without  rudder  or  com- 
pass." 

Then,  as  he  could  not  sleep,  he  dressed  himself,  and  went 
out  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning.  He  roamed  about  with 
a  heavy  heart ;  at  last  he  bethought  him  of  his  fiddle.  Since 


246  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG. 

Lucy's  departure  from  Font  Abbey  this  had  been  a  great 
solace  to  him.  It  was  at  once  a  depository  and  vent  to 
him ;  he  poured  out  his  heart  to  it  and  by  it ;  sometimes 
he  would  fancy,  while  he  played,  that  he  was  describing  the 
beauties  of  her  mind  and  person  ;  at  others,  regretting  the 
sad  fate  that  separated  him  from  her;  or,  hope  reviving, 
would  see  her  near  him,  and  be  telling  her  how  he  loved 
her ;  and,  so  great  an  inspirer  is  love,  he  had  invented  more 
than  one  clear  melody  during  the  last  month,  he  who  up  to 
that  time  had  been  content  to  render  the  thoughts  of  others, 
like  most  fiddlers  and  composers. 

So  he  said  to  himself,  "  I  had  better  not  play  in  the  house, 
or  I  shall  wake  them  out  of  their  first  sleep." 

He  brought  out  his  violin,  got  among  some  trees  near  the 
stable-yard,  and  tried  to  soothe  his  sorrowful  heart.  He 
played  sadly,  sweetly,  and  dreamingly.  He  bade  the  wooden 
shell  tell  all  the  world  how  lonely  he  was,  only  the  magic 
shell  told  it  so  tenderly  and  tunefully  that  he  soon  ceased  to 
be  alone.  The  first  arrival  was  on  four  legs :  Pepper,  a  ter- 
rier with  a  taste  for  sounds.  Pepper  arrived  cautiously, 
though  in  a  state  of  profound  curiosity,  and,  being  too  wise 
to  trust  at  once  to  his  ears,  avenue  of  sense  by  which  we 
are  all  so  much  oftener  deceived  than  by  any  other,  he 
first  smelt  the  musician  carefully  and  minutely  all  round. 
What  he  learned  by  this  he  and  his  Creator  alone  know, 
but  apparently  something  reassuring  ;  for,  as  soon  as  he  had 
thoroughly  snuffed  his  Orpheus,  he  took  up  a  position  ex- 
actly opposite  him,  sat  up  high  on  his  tail,  cocked  his  nose 
well  into  the  air,  and  accompanied  the  violin  with  such  vo- 
cal powers  as  nature  had  bestowed  on  him.  Nor  did  the 
sentiment  lose  any  thing,  in  intensity  at  all  events,  by  the 
vocalist.  If  David's  strains  were  plaintive,  Pepper's  were 
lugubrious ;  and,  what  may  seem  extraordinary,  so  long  as 
David  played  softly  the  Cerberus  of  the  stable-yard  whined 
musically,  and  tolerably  in  tune ;  but  when  he  played  loud 
or  fast  poor  Pepper  got  excited,  and  in  his  wild  endeavors 
to  equal  the  violin  vented  dismal  and  discordant  howls  at 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  247 

unpleasantly  short  intervals.  All  this  attracted  David's  at- 
tention, and  he  soon  found  he  could  play  upon  Pepper  as 
well  as  the  fiddle,  raising  him  and  subduing  him  by  turns  ; 
only,  like  the  ocean,  Pepper  was  not  to  be  lulled  back  to 
his  musical  ripple  quite  so  quickly  as  he  could  be  lashed 
into  howling  phrensy.  While  David  was  thus  playing,  and 
Pepper  showing  a  fearful  broadside  of  ivory  teeth,  and  fling- 
ing up  his  nose  and  sympathizing  loudly,  and  with  a  long 
face,  though  not  perhaps  so  deeply  as  he  looked,  suddenly 
rang  behind  David  a  chorus  of  human  chuckles.  David 
wheeled,  and  there  were  six  young  women's  faces  set  in  the 
foliage  and  laughing  merrily.  Though  perfectly  aware  that 
David  would  look  round,  they  seemed  taken  quite  by  surprise 
when  he  did  look,  and  with  military  precision  became  in- 
stantly two  files,  for  the  four  impudent  ones  ran  behind  the 
two  modest  ones,  and  there,  by  an  innocent  instinct,  tied 
their  cap-strings,  which  were  previously  floating  loose,  their 
custom  ever  in  the  early  morning. 

"Play  us  up  something  merry,  sir,"  hazarded  one  of  the 
mock-modest  ones  in  the  rear. 

"Sha'n't  I  be  taking  you  from  your  work?"  objected 
David,  dryly. 

"  Oh !  all  work  and  no  play  is  bad  for  the  body,"  replied 
the  minx,  keeping  ostentatiously  out  of  sight. 

Good-natured  David  played  a  merry  tune  in  spite  of  his 
heart ;  and  even  at  that  disadvantage  it  was  so  spirit-stir- 
ring compared  with  any  thing  the  servants  had  heard,  that 
it  made  them  all  frisky,  of  which  disposition  Tom,  the  sta- 
ble-boy, who  just  then  came  into  the  yard,  took  advantage, 
and,  leading  out  one  of  the  house-maids  by  the  polite  process 
of  hauling  at  her  with  both  hands,  proceeded  to  country 
dancing,  in  which  the  others  soon  demurely  joined. 

Now  all  this  was  wormwood  to  poor  David ;  for  to  play 
merriment  when  the  heart  is  too  heavy  to  be  cheered  by  it 
makes  that  heart  bitter  as  \yell  as  sad.  But  the  good-na- 
tured fellow  said  to  himself,  "  Poor  things,  I  dare  say  they 
work  from  morning  till  night,  and  seldom  see  pleasure  but 


248  JX)VE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

at  a  distance :  why  not  put  on  a  good  face,  and  give  them 
one  merry  hour."  So  he  played  hornpipes  and  reels  till  all 
their  hearts  were  on  fire,  and  faces  red,  and  eyes  glittering, 
and  legs  aching,  and  he  himself  felt  ready  to  burst  out  cry- 
ing, and  then  he  left  off.  As  for  ilpenseroso  Pepper,  he  took 
this  intrusion  of  merry  music  upon  his  sympathies  very  ill. 
He  left  singing,  and  barked  furiously  and  incessantly  at 
these  ancient  English  melodies  and  at  the  dancers,  and  kept 
running  from  and  running  at  the  women's  whirling  gowns 
alternately,  and  lost  his  mental  balance,  and  at  last,  having 
by  a  happier  snap  than  usual  torn  off  two  feet  of  the  under 
house-maid's  frock,  shook  and  worried  the  fragment  with  in- 
sane snarls  and  gleaming  eyes,  and  so  zealously  that  his  ex- 
istence seemed  to  depend  on  its  annihilation. 

David  gave  those  he  had  brightened  a  sad  smile,  and  went 
hastily  in-doors.  He  put  his  violin  into  its  case,  and  sealed 
and  directed  his  letter  to  Eve.  He  could  not  rest  in-doors, 
so  he  roamed  out  again,  but  this  time  he  took  care  to  go  oiv 
the  lawn.  Nobody  would  come  there,  he  thought,  to  inter- 
rupt his  melancholy.  He  was  doomed  to  be  disappointed 
in  that  respect.  As  he  sat  in  the  little  summer-house  with 
his  head  on  the  table,  he  suddenly  heard  an  clastic  step  on 
the  dry  gravel.  He  started  peevishly  up,  and  saw  a  lady 
walking  briskly  toward  him :  it  was  Miss  Fountain. 

She  saw  him  at  the  same  instant.  She  hesitated  a  sin- 
gle half  moment ;  then,  as  escape  was  impossible,  resumed 
her  course.  David  went  bashfully  to  meet  her. 

"  Good-morning,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  she,  in  the  most  easy, 
unembarrassed  way  imaginable. 

He  stammered  a  "  good-morning,"  and  flushed  with  pleas- 
ure and  confusion. 

He  walked  by  her  side  in  silence.  She  stole  a  look  at 
him,  and  saw  that,  after  the  first  blush  at  meeting  her,  he 
was  pale  and  haggard.  On  this  she  dashed  into  singularly 
easy  and  cheerful  conversation  with  him ;  told  him  that 
this  morning  walk  was  her  custom — "  My  substitute  for 
rouge,  you  know.  I  am  always  the  first  np  in  this  lapguid 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  249 

house ;  but  I  must  not  boast  before  you,  who,  I  dare  say, 
turn  out — is  not  that  the  word? — at  daybreak.  But,  now 
I  think  of  it,  no !  you  would  have  crossed  my  hawse  before, 
Mr.  Dodd,"  using  naval  phrases  to  flatter  him. 

"  It  was  my  ill  luck ;  I  always  cruised  a  mile  off.  I  had 
no  idea  this  bit  of  gravel  was  your  quarter-deck." 

"  It  is,  though,  because  it  is  always  dry.  You  would  not 
like  a  quarter-deck  with  that  character,  would  you "?" 

"  Oh  yes,  I  should.  I'd  have  my  bowsprit  always  wet, 
and  my  quarter-deck  always  dry.  But  it  is  no  use  wishing 
for  what  we  can  not  have." 

"  That  is  very  true,"  said  Lucy,  quietly. 

David  reflected  on  his  own  words,  and  sighed  deeply. 

This  did  not  suit  Lucy.  She  plied  him  with  airy  noth- 
ings, that  no  man  can  arrest  and  impress  on  paper ;  but  the 
tone  and  smile  made  them  pleasing,  and  then  she  asked  his 
opinion  of  the  other  guests  in  such  a  way  as  implied  she 
took  some  interest  in  his  opinion  of  them,  but  mighty  little 
in  the  people  themselves.  In  short,  she  chatted  with  him 
like  an  old  friend,  and  nothing  more ;  but  David  was  not 
subtile  enough  in  general,  nor  just  now  calm  enough,  to  see 
on  what  footing  all  this  cordiality  was  offered  him.  His 
color  came  back,  his  eye  brightened,  happiness  beamed  on 
his  face,  and  the  lady  saw  it  from  under  her  lashes. 

"  How  fortunate  I  fell  in  with  you  here !  You  are  your- 
self again — on  your  quarter-deck.  I  scarce  knew  you  the 
last  few  days.  I  was  afraid  I  had  offended  you.  You 
seemed  to  avoid  me."  ^ 

"  Nonsense,  Mr.  Dodd ;  what  is  there  about  you  to  avoid  V 

"Plenty,  Miss  Fountain;  I  am  so  inferior  to  your  other 
friends." 

"  I  was  not  aware  of  it,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"  And  I  have  heard  your  sex  has  gusts  of  caprice,  and  I 
thought  the  cold  wind  was  blowing  upon  me ;  and  that  did 
seem  very  sad,  just  when  I  am  going  out,  and  perhaps  shall 
never  see  your  sweet  face  or  hear  your  lovely  voice  again." 

"  Don't  say  that,  Mr.  Dodd,  or  you  will  make  me  sad  in 
L2 


250  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG- 

earnest.  Your  prudence  and  courage,  and  a  kind  Provi- 
dence, will  carry  you  safe  through  this  voyage,  as  they  have 
through  so  many,  and  on  your  return  the  acquaintance  you 
do  me  the  honor  to  value  so  highly  will  await  you — if  it 
depends  on  me." 

All  this  was  said  kindly  and  beautifully,  and  almost  ten- 
derly, but  still  with  a  certain  majesty  that  forbade  lover 
making — rendered  it  scarce  possible  except  to  a  fool.  But 
David  was  not  captious.  He  could  not,  like  the  philoso- 
pher, sift  sunshine.  For  some  days  he  had  been  almost 
separated  from  her.  Now  she  was  by  his  side.  He  adored 
her  so  that  he  could  no  longer  realize  sorrow  or  disappoint- 
ment to  come.  They  were  uncertain — future.  The  light 
of  her  eyes,  and  voice,  and  face,  and  noble  presence  were 
here :  he  basked  in  them. 

He  told  her  not  to  mind  a  word  he  had  said :  "  It  was 
all  nonsense.  I  am  happier  now — happier  than  ever." 

At  this  Lucy  looked  grave  and  became  silent. 

David,  to  amuse  her,  told  her  there  was  "  a  singing  dog 
aboard,"  and  would  she  like  to  hear  him? 

This  was  a  happy  diversion  for  Lucy.  She  assented  gay- 
ly.  David  ran  for  his  fiddle,  and  then  for  Pepper.  Pepper 
wagged  his  tail,  but,  strong  as  his  musical  taste  was,  would 
not  follow  the  fiddle.  But  at  this  juncture  Master  Regi- 
nald dawned  on  the  stable-yard  with  a  huge  slice  of  bread 
and  butter.  Pepper  followed  him.  So  the  party  came  on 
the  lawn  and  joined  Lucy.  Then  David  played  on  the  vio- 
lin, and  Pepper  performed  exactly  as  hereinbefore  related. 
Lucy  laughed  merrily,  and  Reginald  shrieked  with  delight, 
for  the  vocal  terrier  was  mortal  droll. 

"  But,  setting  Pepper  aside,  that  is  a  very  sweet  air  you 
are  playing  now,  Mr.  Dodd.  It  is  full  of  soul  and  feeling." 

"  Is  it  ?"  said  David,  looking  wonder-struck ;  "you  know 
best." 

"Who  is  the  composer?" 

David  looked  confused  and  said,  "  No  one  of  any  note." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  251 

Lucy  shot  a  glance  at  him,  keen  as  lightning.  What 
with  David's  simplicity  and  her  own  remarkable  talent  for 
reading  faces,  his  countenance  was  a  book  to  her,  wide  open, 
Bible  print.  "  The  composer's  name  is  Mr.  Dodd,"  said 
she,  quietly. 

"  I  little  thought  you  would  be  satisfied  with  it,"  replied 
David,  obliquely. 

"Then  you  doubted  my  judgment  as  well  as  your  own 
talent." 

"  My  talent !  I  should  never  have  composed  an  air  that 
would  bear  playing  but  for  one  thing." 

"  And  what  was  that ?"  said  Lucy,  affecting  vast  curiosi- 
ty. She  felt  herself  on  safe  ground  now — the  fine  arts. 

"  You  remember  when  you  went  away  from  Font  Abbey, 
and  left  us  all  so  heavy-hearted?" 

"  I  remember  leaving  Font  Abbey,"  replied  Lucy,  with 
saucy  emphasis,  and  an  air  of  lofty  disbelief  in  the  other  in- 
cident. 

"  Well,  I  used  to  get  my  fiddle,  and  think  of  you  so  far 
away,  and  sweet  sad  airs  came  to  my  heart,  and  from  my 
heart  they  passed  into  the  fiddle.  Now  and  then  one  seem- 
ed more  worthy  of  you  than  the  rest  were,  and  then  I  kept 
that  one." 

"  You  mean  you  took  the  notes  down,"  said  Lucy,  coldly. 

"  Oh  no,  there  was  no  need ;  I  wrote  it  in  my  head  and 
in  my  heart.  May  I  play  you  another  of  your  tunes?  I 
call  them  your  tunes." 

Lucy  blushed  faintly,  and  fixed  her  eyes  on  the  ground. 
She  gave  a  slight  signal  of  assent,  and  David  played  a  mel- 
ody. 

"  It  is  very  beautiful,"  said  she,  in  a  low  voice.  "  Play 
it  again.  Can  you  play  it  as  we  walk?" 

"  Oh  yes."  He  played  it  again.  They  drew  near  the 
hall  door.  She  looked  up  a  moment,  and  then  demurely 
down  again. 

"  Now  will  you  be  so  good  as  to  play  the  first  one  twice?" 
She  listened  with  her  eyelashes  drooping.  "  Tweedle  dee ! 


252  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

tweedle  dum!  tweedle  dee."  "And  noiv  we  will  go  in  to 
breakfast,"  cried  Lucy,  with  sudden  airy  cheerfulness,  and, 
almost  with  the  word,  she  darted  up  the  steps,  and  entered 
the  house  without  even  looking  to  see  whether  David  fol- 
lowed or  what  became  of  him. 

He  stood  gazing  through  the  open  door  at  her  as  she 
glided  across  the  hall,  swift  and  elastic,  yet  serpentine,  and 
graceful  and  stately  as  Juno  at  nineteen. 

"  Et  vera  incessu  patuit  lady." 

These  Junones,  severe  in  youthful  beauty,  fill  us  Davids 
with  irrational  awe ;  but,  the  next  moment,  they  are  treat- 
ed like  small  children  by  the  very  first  matron  they  meet ; 
they  resign  their  judgment  at  once  to  hers,  and  bow  their 
wills  to  her  lightest  word  with  a  slavish  meanness. 

Creation's  unmarried  lords,  realize  your  true  position — 
girls  govern  you,  and  wives  govern  girls. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette,  on  Lucy's  entrance,  ran  a  critical  eye 
over  her,  and  scolded  her  like  a  six-year-old  for  walking  in 
thin  shoes. 

"  Only  on  the  gravel,  aunt,"  said  the  divine  slave,  sub- 
missively. 

"No  matter;  it  rained  last  night.  I  heard  it  patter. 
You  want  to  be  laid  up,  I  suppose." 

"  I  will  put  on  thicker  ones  in  future,  dear  aunt,"  mur- 
mured the  celestial  serf. 

Now  Mrs.  Bazalgette  did  not  really  care  a  button  wheth- 
er the  servile  angel  wore  thick  soles  or  thin.  She  was  cross 
about  something  a  mile  off  that.  As  soon  as  she  had  vent- 
ed her  ill-humor  on  a  sham  cause,  she  could  come  to  its  real 
cause  good-temperedly.  "  And,  Lucy,  love,  do  manage  bet- 
ter about  Mr.  Dodd." 

Lucy  turned  scarlet.  Luckily,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  evad- 
ing her  niece's  eye,  so  did  not  see  her  tell-tale  cheek. 

"  He  was  quite  thrown  out  last  night ;  and  really,  as 
he  does  not  ride  with  us,  it  is  too  bad  to  neglect  him  in- 
doors." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  253 

"  Oh,  excuse  me,  aunt,  Mr.  Dodd  is  your  protege.  You 
did  not  even  tell  me  you  were  going  to  invite  him." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  that  I  certainly  did.  Poor  fellow, 
he  was  put  of  spirits  last  night." 

"  Well,  but,  aunt,  surely  you  can  put  an  admirer  in  good 
spirits  when  you  think  proper,"  said  Lucy,  slyly. 

"Humph!  I  don't  want  to  attract  too  much  attention. 
I  see  Bazalgette  watching  me,  and  I  don't  wish  to  be  mis- 
interpreted myself,  or  give  my  husband  pain." 

She  said  this  with  such  dignity  that  Lucy,  who  knew  her 
regard  for  her  husband,  had  much  ado  not  to  titter.  But 
courtesy  prevailed,  and  she  said  gravely,  "  I  will  do  what- 
ever you  wish  me,  only  give  me  a  hint  at  the  time :  a  look 
will  do,  you  know." 

The  ladies  separated:  they  met  again  at  the  breakfast- 
room  door.  Laughter  rang  merrily  inside,  and  among  the 
gayest  voices  was  Mr.  Dodd's.  Lucy  gave  Mrs.  Bazalgette 
an  arch  look.  "  Your  patient  seems  better  :"  and  they  en- 
tered the  room,  where,  sure  enough,  they  found  Mr.  Dodd 
the  life  and  soul  of  the  assembled  party. 

"  A  letter  from  Mrs.  Wilson,  aunt." 

"  And,  pray,  who  is  Mrs.  Wilson?" 

"  My  nurse.  She  tells  me  *  it  is  five  years  since  she  has 
seen  me,  and  she  is  wearying  to  see  me.'  What  a  droll  ex- 
pression, '  wearying.' " 

"  Ah !"  said  David  Dodd. 

"  You  have  heard  the  word  before,  Mr.  Dodd  ?" 

"No,  I  can't  say  I  have;  but  I  know  what  it  must 
mean." 

"Lying  becalmed  at  the  equator,  eh!  Dodd?"  said  Ba- 
zalgette, misunderstanding  him. 

"  Mrs.  Wilson  tells  me  she  has  taken  a  farm  a  few  miles 
from  this." 

"  Interesting  intelligence,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette. 

''And  she  says  she  is  coming  over  to  see  me  one  of  these 
days,  aunt,"  said  Lucy,  with  a  droll  expression,  half  arch, 


254  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

half  rueful.  She  added  timidly,  "There  is  no  objection  to 
that,  is  there?" 

"  None  whatever,  if  she  does  not  make  a  practice  of 
it ;  only  mind,  these  old  servants  are  the  greatest  pests  on 
earth." 

"  I  remember  now,"  said  Lucy,  thoughtfully,  "Mrs.  Wil- 
son was  always  very  fond  of  me.  I  can  not  think  why, 
though." 

"  No  more  can  I,"  said  Mr.  Hardie,  dryly ;  "  she  must 
be  a  thoroughly  unreasonable  woman." 

Mr.  Hardie  said  this  with  a  good  deal  of  grace  and  hu- 
mor, and  a  laugh  went  round  the  table. 

"  I  mean,  she  only  saw  me  at  intervals  of  several  years." 

"  Why,  Lucy,  what  an  antiquity  you  are  making  your- 
self," said  Fountain. 

But  Lucy  was  occupied  with  her  puzzle. 

"  She  calls  me  her  nursling,"  said  Lucy,  sotto  voce,  to  heT 
aunt,  but,  of  course,  quite  audibly  to  the  rest  of  the  compa- 
ny ;  "  her  dear  nursling  ;"  and  says,  "  she  would  walk  fifty 
miles  to  see  me.  Nursling  ?  hum  !  there  is  another  word  I 
never  heard,  and  I  do  not  exactly  know — Then  she  says — " 

"  Taisez-vous,  petite  sotte  /"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  in  a  sharp 
whisper,  so  admirably  projected  that  it  was  intelligible  only 
to  the  ear  it  was  meant  for. 

Lucy  caught  it  and  stopped  short,  and  sat  looking  by 
main  force  calm  and  dignified,  but  scarlet,  and  in  secret  ag- 
ony. "  I  have  said  something  amiss,"  thought  Lucy,  and 
was  truly  wretched. 

"  We  don't  believe  in  Mrs.  Wilson's  affection  on  this  side 
the  table,"  said  Mr.  Hardie ;  "  but  her  revelations  interest 
us,  for  they  prove  that  Miss  Fountain  had  a  beginning; 
now  we  had  thought  she  rose  from  the  foam  like  Venus,  or 
sprung  from  Jove's  brow  like  Minerva,  or  descended  from 
some  ancient  pedestal,  flawless  as  the  Parian  itself." 

"  What,  sir,"  cried  Bazalgette,  furiously,  "  did  you  think 
our  niece  was  built  in  a  day?  so  fair  a  structure,  so  ac- 
complished 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  255 

"Will  you  be  quiet,  good  people?"  said  Mrs.  Bazal- 
gette ;  "  she  was  born,  she  was  bred,  she  was  brought  up, 
in  which  I  had  a  share,  and  she  is  a  very  good  girl,  if  you 
gentlemen  will  be  so  good  as  not  to  spoil  her  for  me  with 
your  flattery." 

"There!"  said  Lucy,  courageously,  enforcing  her  aunt's 
thunderbolt ;  and  she  leaned  toward  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  and 
shot  back  a  glance  of  defiance,  with  arching  neck,  at  Mr. 
Bazalgette. 

After  breakfast  she  ran  to  Mrs.  Bazalgette.  "  What  was 
it?" 

"  Oh,  nothing ;  only  the  gentlemen  were  beginning  to 
grin." 

"  Oh  dear !  did  I  say  any  thing — ridiculous  1" 

"  No,  because  I  stopped  you  in  time.  Mind,  Lucy,  it  is 
never  safe  to  read  letters  out  from  people  in  that  class  of 
life ;  they  talk  about  every  thing,  and  use  words  that  are 
quite  out  of  date.  I  stopped  you  because  I  know  you  are 
a  simpleton,  and  so  I  could  not  tell  what  might  pop  out 
next." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,  aunt — thank  you,"  cried  Lucy,  warmly. 
"  Then  I  did  not  expose  myself,  after  all." 

"  No,  no ;  you  said  nothing  that  might  not  be  proclaimed 
at  Paul's  Cross — ha!  ha!" 

"Am  I  a  simpleton,  aunt?"  inquired  Lucy,  in  the  tone 
of  an  indifferent  person  seeking  knowledge. 

"  Not  you,"  replied  this  oblivious  lady.  "  You  know  a 
great  deal  more  than  most  girls  of  your  age.  To  be  sure, 
girls  that  have  been  at  a  fashionable  school  generally  man- 
age to  learn  one  or  two  things  you  have  no  idea  of." 

"  Naturally." 

"  As  you  say — he !  he !  But  you  make  up  for  it,  my 
dear,  in  other  respects.  If  the  gentlemen  take  you  for  a 
pane  of  glass,  why,  all  the  better ;  meantime,  shall  I  tell 
you  your  real  character?  I  have  only  just  discovered  it 
myself." 


256  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  Oh,  yes,  aunt,  tell  me  my  character.  I  should  so  like 
to  hear  it  from  you." 

"  Should  you?"  said  the  other,  a  little  satirically ;  "  well, 
then,  you  are  an  IN-NOCENT  FOX." 

"  Aunt !" 

"  An  in-no-cent  fox ;  so  run  and  get  your  work-box.  I 
want  you  to  run  up  a  tear  in  my  flounce. 

Lucy  went  thoughtfully  for  her  work-box,  murmuring 
ruefully,  "  I  am  an  in-nocent  fox — I  am  an  in-nocent  fox." 

She  did  not  like  her  new  character  at  all:  it  mortified 
her,  and  seemed  self-contradictory  as  well  as  derogatory. 

On  her  return  she  could  not  help  remonstrating,  "  How 
can  that  be  my  character  ?  A  fox  is  cunning,  and  I  despise 
cunning ;  and  /  am  sure  I  am  not  innocent"  added  she,  put- 
ting up  both  hands  and  looking  penitent.  With  all  this,  a 
shade  of  vexation  was  painted  on  her  lovely  cheeks  as  she 
appealed  against  her  epigram. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  (with  the  calm,  inexorable  superiority 
of  matron  despotism)..  "  You  are  an  in-no-cent  fox ! !  Is 
your  needle  threaded?  Here  is  the  tear;  no,  not  there. 
I  caught  against  the  flower-pot  frame,  and  I'll  swear  I 
heard  my  gown  go.  Look  lower  down,  dear.  Don't  give 
it  up." 

All  which  may  perhaps  remind  the  learned  and  sneering 
reader  of  another  fox — the  one  that  "had  a  wound,  and  he 
could  not  tell  where." 

They  rode  out  to-day  as  usual,  and  David  had  the  equiv- 
ocal pleasure  of  seeing  them  go  from  the  door. 

Lucy  was  one  of  the  first  down,  and  put  her  hand  on  the 
saddle,  and  looked  carelessly  round  for  somebody  to  put  her 
up.  David  stepped  hastily  forward,  his  heart  beating,  seized 
her  foot,  never  waited  for  her  to  spring,  but  went  to  work 
at  once,  and  with  a  powerful  and  sustained  effort  raised  her 
slowly  and  carefully  like  a  dead  weight,  and  settled  her  in 
the  saddle.  His  gi'ipe  hurt  her  foot.  She  bore  it  like  a 
Spartan  sooner  than  lose  the  amusement  of  his  simplicity 


LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  257 

and  enormous  strength,  so  drolly  and  unnecessarily  exerted. 
It  cost  her  a  little  struggle  not  to  laugh  right  out,  but  she 
turned  her  head  away  from  him  a  moment  and  was  quit  for 
a  spasm.  Then  she  came  round  with  a  face  all  candor. 

"Thank  you,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  she,  demurely;  and  her 
eyes  danced  in  her  head.  Her  foot  felt  encircled  with  an 
iron  band,  but  she  bore  him  not  a  grain  of  malice  for  that, 
and  away  she  cantered,  followed  by  his  longing  eyes. 

David  bore  the  separation  well.  "  To-morrow  morning 
I  shall  have  her  all  to  myself,"  said  he.  He  played  with 
Kenealy  and  Reginald,  and  chatted  with  Bazalgette.  In 
the  evening  she  was  surrounded  as  usual,  and  he  obtained 
only  a  small  share  of  her  attention.  But  the  thought  of 
the  morrow  consoled  him.  He  alone  knew  that  she  walk- 
ed before  breakfast. 

The  next  morning  he  rose  early,  and  sauntered  about  till 
eight  o'clock,  and  then  he  came  on  the  lawn  and  waited 
for  her.  She  did  not  come.  He  waited,  and  waited,  and 
waited.  She  never  came.  His  heart  died  within  him. 
"She  avoids  me,"  said  he;  "  it  is  not  accident.  I  have 
driven  her  out  of  her  very  garden ;  she  always  walked  here 
before  breakfast  (she  said  so)  till  I  came  and  spoiled  her 
walk ;  Heaven  forgive  me." 

David  could  not  flatter  himself  that  this  interruption  of 
her  acknowledged  habit  was  accidental.  On  the  other 
hand,  how  kind  and  cheerful  she  had  been  with  him  on  the 
same  spot  yesterday  morning :  to  judge  by  her  manner,  his 
company  on  her  quarter-deck  was  not  unwelcome  to  her ; 
yet  she  kept  her  room  to-day,  from  the  window  of  which 
she  could  probably  see  him  walking  to  and  fro,  longing  for 
her.  The  bitter  disappointment  was  bad  enough,  but  here 
tormenting  perplexity  as  to  its  cause  was  added,  and  be- 
tween the  two  the  pining  heart  was  racked. 

This  is  the  cruelest  separation ;  mere  distance  is  the 
mildest.  Where  land  and  sea  alone  lie  between  two  lov- 
ing hearts,  they  pine,  but  are  at  rest:  a  piece  of  paper,  and 
a  few  lines  traced  by  the  hand  that  reads  like  a  face,  and 


258         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

the  two  sad  hearts  exult  and  embrace  one  another  afresh 
in  spite  of  a  hemisphere  of  dirt  and  salt  water,  that  parts 
bodies  but  not  minds.  But  to  be  close,  yet  kept  aloof  by 
red-hot  iron  and  chilling  ice,  by  rivals,  by  etiquette  and 
cold  indifference — to  be  near,  yet  far — this  is  to  be  apart — 
this,  this  is  separation. 

A  gush  of  rage  and  bitterness  foreign  to  his  natural 
temper  came  over  David  Dodd.  "  Since  I  can't  have  the 
girl  I  love,  I  will  have  nobody  but  my  own  thoughts.  I 
can  not  bear  the  others  and  their  chat  to-day.  I  will  go 
and  think  of  her,  since  that  is  all  she  will  let  me  do ;"  and 
directly  after  breakfast  David  walked  out  on  the  downs  and 
made  by  instinct  for  the  sea.  The  wounded  deer  shunned 
the  lively  herd. 

The  ladies,  as  they  sat  in  the  drawing-room,  received 
visits  of  a  less  flattering  character  than  usual.  Reginald 
kept  popping  in,  inquiring  "Where  was  Mr.  Dodd?"  and 
would  not  believe  they  had  not  hid  him  somewhere.  He 
was  followed  by  Kenealy,  who  came  in  and  put  them  but 
one  question,  "  Where  is  Dawd  f 

"  We  don't  know,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  sharply ;  "  we 
have  not  been  intrusted  with  the  care  of  Mr.  Dodd." 

Kenealy  sauntered  forth  disconsolate.  Finally  Mr.  Ba- 
zalgette put  his  head  in,  and  surveyed  the  room  keenly  but 
in  silence  ;  so  then  his  wife  looked  up,  and  asked  him  satiri- 
cally if  he  did  not  want  Mr.  Dodd. 

"  Of  course  I  do,"  was  the  gracious  reply ;  "  what  else 
should  I  come  here  for?" 

"  Well,  he  is  lost ;  you  had  better  put  him  in  the  '  Hue 
and  Cry.' " 

La  Bazalgette  was  getting  jealous  of  her  own  flirtee :  he 
attracted  too  much  of  that  attention  she  loved  so  dear. 

At  last  Reginald,  despairing  of  Dodd,  went  in  search  of 
another  playmate — Master  Christmas,  a  young  gentleman 
a  year  older  than  himself,  who  lived  within  half  a  milo. 
Before  he  went  he  inquired  what  there  was  for  his  dinner, 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE    ME    LONG.  -    259 

and,  being  informed  "  roast  mutton,"  was  not  enraptured ; 
he  then  asked  with  greater  solicitude  what  was  the  pud- 
ding, and,  being  told  "  rice,"  betrayed  disgust  and  anger,  as 
was  remembered  when  too  late. 

At  two  o'clock,  the  day  being  fine,  the  ladies  went  for  a 
long  ride,  accompanied  by  Talboys  only.  Kenealy  excused 
himself:  "  He  must  see  if  he  could  not  find  Dawd." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  started  in  a  pet;  but,  after  the  first 
canter,  she  set  herself  to  bewitch  Mr.  Talboys,  just  to  keep 
her  hand  in :  she  flattered  him  up  hill  and  down  dale. 
Lucy  was  silent  and  distraite. 

"  From  that  hill  you  look  right  down  upon  the  sea," 
said  Mrs.  Bazalgette:  "what  do  you  say?  it  is  only  two 
miles  farther." 

On  they  cantered,  and,  leaving  the  high  road,  dived  into 
a  green  lane  which  led  them,  by  a  gradual  ascent,  to  Mar- 
iner's Folly  on  the  summit  of  the  cliff.  Mariner's  Folly 
looked  at  a  distance  like  an  enormous  bush  in  the  shape  of 
a  lion ;  but  when  you  came  nearer,  you  saw  it  was  three 
remarkably  large  blackthorn-trees  planted  together.  As 
they  approached  it  at  a  walk,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  told  Mr. 
Talboys  its  legend. 

"  These  trees  were  planted  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago 
by  a  retired  buccaneer." 

"Aunt,  now,  it  was  only  a  lieutenant." 
"  Be  quiet,  Lucy,  and  don't  spoil  me :  I  call  him  a  buc- 
caneer. Some  say  it  is  named  his  '  Folly,'  because,  you 
must  know,  his  ghost  comes  and  sits  here  at  times,  and 
that  is  an  absurd  practice,  shivering  in  the  cold.  Others 
more  learned  say  it  comes  from  a  Latin  word  '  folio,'  or 
some  such  thing,  that  means  a  leaf;  the  mariner's  leafy 
screen."  She  then  added  with  reckless  levity,  "  I  wonder 
whether  we  shall  find  Buckey  on  the  other  side,  looking 
at  the  ships  through  a  ghostly  telescope — ha !  ha  ! — ah  ! 
ah ! — help !  mercy !  forgive  me  !  Oh  dear,  it  is  only  Mr. 
Dodd  in  his  jacket — you  frightened  me  so.  Oh !  oh ! 
There — I  am  ill.  Catch  me,  somebody ;"  and  she  drop- 


260  IX>VE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

ped  her  whip,  and,  seeing  David's  eye  was  on  her,  sub- 
sided backward  with  considerable  courage  and  trustful- 
ness, and  for  the  second  time  contrived  to  be  in  her 
flirtee's  arms. 

I  wish  my  friend  Aristotle  had  been  there ;  I  think  he 
would  have  been  pleased  at  her  aj^ivoia  (presence  of 
mind)  in  turning  even  her  terror  of  the  supernatural  so 
quickly  to  account,  and  making  it  subservient  to  flirtation. 

David  sat  heart-stricken  and  hopeless,  gazing  at  the  sea. 
The  hours  passed  by  his  heavy  heart  unheeded.  The  leafy 
screen  deadened  the  light  sound  of  the  horses'  feet  on  the 
turf,  and,  moreover,  his  senses  were  all  turned  inward. 
They  were  upon  him,  and  he  did  not  move,  but  still  held 
his  head  in  his  hands  and  gazed  upon  the  sea.  At  Mrs. 
Bazalgette's  cries  he  started  up,  and  looked  confusedly  at 
them  all ;  but  when  she  did  the  feinting  business,  he 
thought  she  was  going  to  faint,  and  caught  her  in  his 
arms  ;  and,  holding  her  in  them  a  moment  as  if  she  had 
been  a  child,  he  deposited  her  very  gently  in  a  sitting  pos- 
ture at  the  foot  of  one  of  the  trees,  and,  taking  her  hand, 
slapped  it  to  bring  her  to. 

"  Oh  don't !  you  hurt  me,"  cried  the  lady,  in  her  natural 
voice. 

Lucy,  barbarous  girl,  never  came  to  her  aunt's  assist- 
ance. At  the  first  fright  she  seemed  slightly  agitated,  but 
she  now  sat  impassive  on  her  pony,  and  even  wore  a  satir- 
ical smile. 

"Now,  dear  aunt,  when  you  have  done,  Mr.  Dodd  will 
put  you  on  your  horse  again." 

On  this  hint  David  lifted  her  like  a  child,  malgrt'  a  little 
squeak  she  thought  it  well  to  utter,  and  put  her  in  the  snd- 
dle  again.  She  thanked  him  in  a  low,  murmuring  voice. 
She  then  plied  David  with  rf  host  of  questions.  "  How 
came  he  so  far  from  home?"  "Why  had  he  deserted  them 
all  day  ?"  David  hung  his  head,  and  did  not  answer. 
Lucy  came  to  his  relief:  "  It  would  be  as  well  if  you 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         261 

would  make  him  promise  to  be  home  in  time  for  dinner ; 
and,  by  the  way,  I  had  a  favor  to  ask  of  you,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"  A  favor  to  ask  of  me  ?  !" 

"  Oh,  you  know  we  all  make  demands  upon  your  good- 
nature in  turn." 

"  That  is  true,"  said  La  Bazalgette,  tenderly ;  "  I  don't 
know  what  will  become  of  us  all  when  he  goes." 

Lucy  then  explained  "  that  the  masked  ball  suggested  by 
Mr.  Talboys'  beautiful  dresses  was  to  be  very  soon,  and  she 
wanted  Mr.  Dodd  to  practice  quadrilles  and  waltzes  with 
her ;  it  will  be  so  much  better  with  the  violin  and  piano 
than  with  a  piano  alone,  and  you  are  such  an  excellent 
timeist — will  you,  Mr.  Dodd  ?" 

"That  I  will,"  said  David,  his  eyes  sparkling  with  de- 
light ;  "  thank  you." 

"  Then,  as  I  shall  practice  before  the  gentlemen  join  us, 
and  it  is  four  o'clock  now,  had  you  not  better  turn  your 
back  on  the  sea,  and  make  the  best  of  your  way  home?" 

"  I  will  be  there  almost  as  soon  as  you." 

"  Indeed !  what,  on  foot,  and  we  on  horseback  ?" 

"Ay ;  but  I  can  steer  in  the  wind's  eye." 

"  Aunt,  Mr.  Dodd  proposes  a  race  home." 

"  With  all  my  heart.  How  much  start  are  we  to  give 
him?" 

"None  at  all,"  said  David;  "are  you  ready?  then  give 
way,"  and  he  started  down  the  hill  at  a  killing  pace. 

The  equestrians  were  obliged  to  walk  down  the  hill,  and 
*vhen  they  reached  the  bottom  David  was  going  as  the  crow 
flies  across  some  meadows  half  a  mile  ahead.  A  good  can- 
ter soon  brought  them  on  a  line  with  him,  but  e^ery  now 
and  then  the  turns  of  the  road  and  the  hills  gave  him  an 
advantage.  Lucy,  naturally  kind-hearted,  would  have  re- 
laxed her  pace  to  make  the  race  more  equal,  but  Talboys 
urged  her  on ;  and  as  a  horse  is,  after  all,  a  faster  animal 
than  a  sailor,  they  rode  in  at  the  front  gate  while  David 
was  still  two  fields  off. 

"  Come,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  regretfully,  "  we  have  beat 


262         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

him,  poor  fellow,  but  we  won't  go  in  till  we  see  what  has 
become  of  him." 

As  they  loitered  on  the  lawn,  Henry,  the  footman,  came 
out  with  a  salver,  and  on  it  reposed  a  soiled  note.  Henry 
presented  it  with  demure  obsequiousness,  then  retired  giin- 
ning  furtively. 

"What  is  this — a  begging  letter?  What  a  vile  hand! 
Look,  Lucy ;  did  you  ever  ?  Why,  it  must  be  some  pau- 
per." . 

"  Have  a  little  mercy,  aunt,"  said  Lucy,  piteously ;  "  that 
hand  has  been  formed  under  my  care  and  daily  superintend- 
ence :  it  is  Reginald's." 

"  Oh,  that  alters  the  case.  What  can  the  dear  child  have 
to  say  to  me  ?  Ah !  the  little  wretch !  Send  the  servants 
after  him  in  every  direction.  Oh !  who  would  be  a  moth- 
er?" 

The  letter  was  written  in  lines,  with  two  pernicious  de- 
fects. 1st.  They  were  like  the  wooden  part  of  a  bow  in- 
stead of  its  string.  2d.  They  yielded  to  gravity — kept 
tending  down,  down,  to  the  right-hand  corner  more  and 
more.  In  the  use  of  capitals  the  writer  had  taken  the 
copy-head  as  his  model.  The  style,  however,  was  pithy, 
and  in  writing  that  is  the  first  Chri*tian  grace — no,  I  for- 
got, it  is  the  second ;  pellucidity  is  the  first. 

"  Dear  mama,  me  and  johnny 
Cristmas  are  gone  to  the  north 
Pole  his  unkle  went  twise  we 
Shall  be  back  in  siks  munths 
Please  give  my  love  to  lucy  and 
Papa  and  ask  lucy  to  be  kind  to 
My  ginnipigs  i  shall  want  them 
Wen  i  come  back,     too  much 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  263 

Cabiges  is  not  good  for  ginnipigs. 
Wen  i  come  back  i  hope  there 
Will  be  no  rise  left,     it  is  very 
Unjust  to  give  me  those  nasty 
Messy  pudens  i  am  not  a  child 
There  filthy  there  abbommanabel. 
Johny  says  it  is  funy  at  the  north 
Pole  and  there  are  bares  and  they 
Are  wite. 

I  remain 
Yonr  duteftil  son 
Reginald  George  Bazalgette." 

This  innocent  missive  set  house  and  premises  in  an  up- 
roar. Henry  was  sent  east  through  the  dirt,  multa  reluc- 
tantem,  in  white  stockings.  Tom  galloped  north.  Mrs. 
Bazalgette  sat  in  the  hall,  and  did  well-bred  hysterics  for 
Kenealy  and  Talboys.  Lucy  pinned  up  her  habit,  am1  ran 
to  the  boundary  hedge  on  the  bare  chance  of  seeing  the 
figures  of  the  truants  somewhere  short  of  the  horizon. 
Lo  and  behold,  there  was  David  Dodd  crossing  the  very 
nearest  field  and  coming  toward  her,  an  urchin  in  each 
hand. 

Lucy  ran  to  meet  them.  "  Oh,  you  dear  naughty  chil- 
dren, what  a  fright  you  have  given  us !  Oh,  Mr.  Dodd, 
how  good  of  you!  Where  did  you  find  them?" 

"  Under  that  hedge,  eating  apples.  They  tell  me  they 
sailed  for  the  North  Pole  this  morning,  but  fell  in  with  a 
pirate  close  under  the  land,  so  bout  ship  and  came  ashore 
again." 

"  A  pirate,  Mr.  Dodd  ?     Oh,  I  see  ;  a  beggar — a  tramp." 


264         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  A  deal  worse  than  that,  Miss  Lucy.  Now,  youngster, 
why  don't  you  spin  your  own  yarn?" 

"  Yes,  tell  me,  Reggy." 

"  Well,  dear,  when  I  had  written  to  mamma,  and  Johnny 
had  folded  it,  because  I  can  write  but  I  can't  fold  it,  and  he 
can  fold  it  but  he  can't  write  it,  we  went  to  the  North  Pole, 
and  we  got  a  mile ;  and  then  we  saw  that  nasty  Newfound- 
land dog  sitting  in  the  road  waiting  to  torment  us :  it  is 
Farmer  Johnson's,  and  it  plays  with  us,  and  knocks  us 
down,  and  licks  us,  and  frightens  us,  and  we  hate  it ;  so  we 
came  home." 

"  Ha !  ha !  good,  prudent  children.  Oh  dear,  you  have 
had  no  dinner." 

"  Oh  yes  we  had,  Lucy,  such  a  nice  one :  we  bought 
such  a  lot  of  apples  of  a  woman.  I  never  had  a  dinner  all 
apples  before;  they  always  spoil  them  with  mutton  and 
things,  and  that  nasty,  nasty  rice." 

"Hear  to  that!"  shouted  David  Dodd.  "They  have 
been  dining  upon  varjese"  (verjuice),  "and  them  growing 
children.  I  shall  take  them  into  the  kitchen,  and  put 
some  cold  beef  into  their  little  holds  this  minute,  poor  lit- 
tle lambs." 

"Oh  yes,  do;  and  I  will  run  and  tell  the  good  news:' 
She  ran  across  the  lawn,  and  came  into  the  hall  red  with 
innocent  happiness  and  agitation.  "  They  are  found,  aunt, 
they  are  found  ;  don't  cry.  Mr.  Dodd  found  them  close  by. 
They  have  had  no  dinner,  so  that  good,  kind  Mr.  Dodd  is 
taking  them  into  the  kitchen.  I  will  send  Master  Christ- 
mas home  with  a  servant.  Shall  I  bring  you  Reggy  to 
kiss?" 

"  No,  no ;  wicked  little  wretch,  to  frighten  his  poor  moth- 
er! Whip  him,  somebody,  and  put  him  to  bed." 

In  the  evening,  soon  after  the  ladies  had  left  the  dining- 
room,  the  piano-forte  was  heard  playing  quadrilles  in  the 
drawing-room.  David  fidgeted  on  his  seat  a  little,  and 
presently  rose  and  went  for  his  violin,  and  joined  Lucy  in 


LOVE   MB   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  265 

the  drawing-room  alone.  Mrs.  B.  was  trying  on  a  dress. 
Between  the  tunes  Lucy  chatted  with  him  as  freely  and 
kindly  as  ever.  David  was  in  heaven.  When  the  gentle- 
men came  up  from  the  dining-room,  his  joy  was  interrupt- 
ed, but  not  for  long.  The  two  musicians  played  with  so 
much  spirit,  and  the  fiddle,  in  particular,  was  so  hearty,  that 
Mrs.  Bazalgette  proposed  a  little  quiet  dance  on  the  carpet ; 
and  this  drew  the  other  men  away  from  the  piano,  and  left 
David  and  Lucy  to  themselves.  She  stole  a  look  more  than 
once  at  his  bright  eyes  and  rich  ruddy  color,  and  asked  her- 
self, "  Is  that  really  the  same  face  we  found  looking  wan 
and  haggard  on  the  sea  ?  I  think  I  have  put  an  end  to 
that,  at  all  events."  The  consciousness  of  this  sort  of  pow- 
er is  secretly  agreeable  to  all  men  and  all  women,  whether 
they  mean  to  abuse  it  or  no.  She  smiled  demurely  at  her 
mastery  over  this  great  heart,  and  said  to  herself,  "  One 
would  think  I  was  a  witch."  Later  in  the  evening  she 
eyed  him  again,  and  thought  to  herself,  "  If  my  company 
and  a  few  friendly  words  can  make  him  so  happy,  it  does 
seem  very  hard  I  should  select  him  to  shun  for  the  few  days 
he  has  to  pass  in  England  now ;  but  then,  if  I  let  him  think 
— I  don't  know  what  to  do  with  him.  Poor  Mr.  Dodd." 

Miss  Fountain  did  not  torment  her  bolder  aspirants  with 
alternate  distance  and  familiarity.  She  rode  out  every  fine 
day  with  Mr.  Talboys,  and  was  all  affability.  She  sat  next 
Mr.  Hardie  at  dinner,  and  was  all  affability. 

Narrative  has  its  limits ;  and,  to  relate  in  some  sequence 
the  honest  sailor's  tortures  in  love  with  a  tactician,  I  have 
necessarily  omitted  concurrent  incidents  of  a  still  tamer 
character ;  but  the  reader  may,  by  the  help  of  his  own  in- 
telligence, gather  their  general  results  from  the  following 
dialogues,  which  took  place  on  the  afternoon  and  evening 
of  the  terrible  infant's  escapade. 

Mrs,  Bazalgette.  "  Well,  my  dear  friend,  and  how  does 
this  naughty  girl  of  mine  use  you *" 

Mr.  Hardie.  "  As  well  as  I  could  expect,  and  better  than 
I  deserve." 

M 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE    ME   LONG. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette.  "  Then  she  must  be  cleverer  than  any 
girl  that  ever  breathed.  However,  she  does  appreciate 
your  conversation :  she  makes  no  secret  of  it." 

Mr.  H.  "  I  have  so  little  reason  to  complain  of  my  re- 
ception, that  I  will  make  my  proposal  to  her  this  evening 
if  you  think  proper." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  started,  and  glanced  admiration  on  a 
man  of  eight  thousand  a  year,  who  came  to  the  point  of 
points  without  being  either  cajoled  or  spurred  thither ;  but 
she  shook  her  head.  "Prudence,  my  dear  Mr.  Hardie, 
prudence.  Not  just  yet.  You  are  making  advances  every 
day ;  and  Lucy  is  an  odd  girl ;  with  all  her  apparent  ten- 
derness, she  is  unimpressionable." 

"That  is  only  virgin  modesty,"  said  Hardie,  dogmat- 
ically. 

"  Fiddle-stick,"  replied  Mrs.  B.,  good-humoredly.  "  The 
greatest  flirts  I  ever  met  with  were  virgins,  as  you  call  them. 
I  tell  you  she  is  not  disposed  toward  marriage  as  all  other 
girls  are  until  they  have  tasted  its  bitters." 

Mr.  H.  "  If  I  know  any  thing  of  character,  she  will 
make  a  very  loving  wife." 

Mrs.  B.  (sharply).  "That  means  a  nice  little  negro. 
Well,  I  think  she  might,  when  once  caught;  but  she  is 
not  caught,  and  she  is  slippery,  and,  if  you  are  in  too  great 
a  hurry,  she  may  fly  off;  but,  above  all,  we  have  a  danger- 
ous rival  in  the  house  just  now." 

Mr.  H.  "  What,  that  Mr.  Talboys  ?  I  don't  fear  him. 
He  is  next  door  to  a  fool." 

Mrs.  B.  "  What  of  that  ?  fools  are  dangerous  rivals  for  a 
lady's  favor.  We  don't  object  to  fools.  It  depends  on  the 
employment.  There  is  one  office  we  are  apt  to  select  them 
for." 

Mr.  H.  "  A  husband,  eh  V '     The  lady  nodded. 

Mrs.  B.  "  I  meant  to  many  a  fool  in  Bazalgette,  but  I 
found  my  mistake.  The  wretch  had  only  feigned  absurdity. 
He  came  out  in  his  true  colors  directly." 

Mr.  H.  "  A  man  of  sense,  eh  ?     The  sinister  hypocrite  ! 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME   LONG.  267 

He  only  wore  the  cap  and  bells  to  allure  unguarded  beauty, 
and  doffed  them  when  he  donned  the  wedding-suit." 

Mrs.  B.  "  Yes.  But  these  are  reminiscences  so  sweet 
that  I  shall  be  glad  to  return  from  them  to  your  little  af- 
fair. Seriously,  then,  Mr.  Talboys  is  not  to  be  overlooked, 
for  this  reason  :  he  is  well  backed." 

"  By  whom  f 

"  By  some  one  who  has  influence  with  Lucy — her  nearest 
relation,  Mr.  Fountain." 

"  What !  is  he  nearer  to  her  than  you  are?" 

"  Certainly  ;  and  she  is  fond  of  him  to  infatuation.  One 
day  I  did  but  hint  that  selfishness  entered  into  his  character 
(he  is  eaten  up  with  it),  and  that  he  told  fibs ;  Mr.  Hardie, 
she  turned  round  on  me  like  a  tigress — oh,  how  she  made 
me  cry !" 

The  keen  hand,  Hardie,  smiled  satirically,  and  after  a 
pause  answered  with  consummate  coolness :  "  I  believe 
thus  much,  that  she  loves  her  uncle,  and  that  his  influence, 
exerted  unscrupulously — " 

"  Which  it  will  be.  He  may  be  strong  enough  to  spoil 
us,  even  though  he  should  not  be  able  to  carry  his  own 
point;  now  trust  me,  my  dear  friend,  Lucy's  preference  is 
clearly  for  you,  but  I  know  the  weakness  of  my  own  sex, 
and,  above  all,  I  know  Lucy  Fountain.  A  mouse  can  help 
a  lion  in  a  matter  of  small  threads,  too  small  for  his  nobler 
and  grander  wisdom  to  see.  Let  me  be  your  mouse  for 
once."  The  little  woman  caught  the  great  man  with  the 
everlasting  hook,  and  the  discussion  ended  in  "claw  me 
and  I  will  claw  thee,"  and  in  the  mutual  self  complacen- 
cy that  follows  that  arrangement.  Vide  "  Blackwood," 
passim. 

Mr-  H.  "  I  really  think  she  would  accept  me  if  I  offered 
to-day ;  but  I  have  so  high  an  opinion  of  your  sagacity  and 
friendship  for  me,  madam,  that  I  will  defer  my  judgment  to 
yours.  I  must,  however,  make  one  condition,  that  you  will 
not  displace  my  plan  without  suggesting  a  distinct  course 
of  action  for  me  to  adopt  in  its  place." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME    LONG. 

This  smooth  proposal,  made  quietly  but  with  twinkling 
eye,  would  have  shut  the  mouth  of  nine  advisers  in  ten,  but 
it  found  the  Bazalgette  prepared. 

"  Oh !  the  pleasure  of  having  a  man  of  ability  to  deal 
with,"  cried  she,  with  enthusiasm.  "This  is  my  advice, 
then :  stay  Mr.  Fountain  out.  He  must  go  in  a  day  or 
two.  His  time  is  up,  and  I  will  drop  a  hint  of  fresh  vis- 
itors expected.  When  he  is  gone,  warm  by  degrees,  and 
offer  yourself  either  in  person,  or  through  Bazalgette  or 
me." 

"  In  person,  then,  certainly.  Of  all  foibles,  employing 
another  pair  of  eyes,  another  tongue,  and  another  person 
to  make  love  for  one  is  surely  the  silliest." 

"  I  am  quite  of  your  opinion,"  cried  the  lady,  with  a 
hearty  laugh. 

Mr.  Fountain.  "  So  you  are  satisfied  with  the  state  of 
things  1" 

Mr.  Talboys.  "  Yes,  I  think  I  have  beaten  the  sailor  out 
of  the  field." 

"  Well,  but— this  Hardie?" 

"Hardie!  a  shop-keeper.     I  don't  fear  him." 

"  In  that  case,  why  not  propose?  I  have  been  doing  the 
preliminaries — sounding  your  praises." 

Mr.  Talboys  (tyrannically).  "  I  propose  next  Saturday." 

Mr.  Fountain.   "  Very  well." 

Talboys.   "  In  the  boat." 

" In  the  boat?     What  boat?     There's  no  boat." 

"  I  have  asked  her  to  sail  with  me  from in  a  boat: 

there  is  a  very  nice  little  lugger-rigged  one.  I  am  having 
the  seats  padded,  and  stuffed  and  lined,  and  an  awning  put 
up,  and  the  boat  painted  white  and  gold." 

"  Bravo !   Cleopatra's  galley." 

"I  assure  you  she  looks  forward  to  it  with  pleasure;  she 
guesses  why  I  want  to  get  her  into  that  boat.  She  hesita- 
ted at  first,  but  at  last  she  consented  with  a  look — a  con- 
scious look  ;  I  can  hardly  describe  it." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  269 

"  There  is  no  need,"  cried  Fountain.  "  I  know  it ;  the 
jade  turned  all  eyelashes." 

"  That  is  rather  exaggerated,  but  still — " 

"  But  still  I  have  described  it — to  a  hair.     Ha !  ha !" 

Talboys  (gravely).  "  Well,  yes." 

Mr.  Talboys,  I  am  bound  to  own,  was  accurate.  During 
the  last  day  or  two  Lucy  had  taken  a  turn ;  she  had  been 
bewitching ;  she  had  flattered  him  with  tact,  but  delicious- 
ly ;  had  consulted  him  as  to  which  of  his  beautiful  dresses 
she  should  wear  at  the  masked  ball,  and,  when  pressed  to 
have  a  sail  in  the  boat  he  was  fitting  for  her,  she  ended  by 
giving  a  demure  assent. 

Chorus  of  male  readers,  "  Oh,  lesfemmes,  Zesfemmesf 

David  Dodd  had  by  nature  a  healthy  as  well  as  a  high 
mind :  but  the  fever  and  ague  of  an  absorbing  passion  were 
telling  on  it.  Like  many  a  great  heart  before  his  day,  his 
heart  was  tossed  like  a  ship,  and  went  up  to  heaven,  and 
down  again  to  despair,  as  a  girl's  humor  shifted,  or  seemed 
to  shift,  for  he  forgot  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  accident, 
and  that  her  sex  are  even  more  under  its  dominion  than 
ours.  No ;  whatever  she  did  must  be  spontaneous,  vol- 
untary, premeditated  even,  and  her  lightest  word  worth 
weighing,  her  lightest  action  worth  anxious  scrutiny  as  to 
its  cause. 

Still  he  had  this  about  him  that  the  peevish  and  puny 
lover  has  not.  Her  bare  presence  was  joy  to  him.  Even 
when  she  was  surrounded  by  other  figures,  he  saw  and  felt 
but  the  one;  the  rest  were  nothings.  But  when  she  went 
out  of  his  sight,  some  bright  illusion  seemed  to  fade  into 
cold  and  dark  reality.  Then  it  fell  on  him  like  a  weighty, 
icy  hammer,  that  in  three  days  he  must  go  to  sea  for  two 
years,  and  that  he  was  no  nearer  her  heart  now  than  he 
was  at  Font  Abbey  :  Was  he  even  as  near? 

So  the  next  afternoon  he  thrust  in  before  Talboys,  and 
put  Lucy  on  her  horse  by  brute  force,  and  griped  her  stout 
little  boot,  which  she  had  slyly  substituted  for  a  shoe,  and 


270         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

touched  her  glossy  habit,  and  felt  a  thrill  of  bliss  unspeak- 
able at  his  momentary  contact  with  her ;  but  she  was  no 
sooner  out  of  sight  than  a  hollow  ache  seized  the  poor  fel- 
low, and  he  hung  his  head  and  sighed. 

"  I  say,  capting,"  said  a  voice  in  his  ear.  He  looked  up, 
and  there  stood  Tom,  the  stable-boy,  with  both  hands  in  his 
pockets.  Tom  was  not  there  by  his  own  proper  movement, 
but  was  agent  of  Betsy,  the  under  house-maid. 

Female  servants  scan  the  male  guests  pretty  closely  too, 
without  seeming  to  do  it,  and  judge  them  upon  lamentably 
broad  principles — youth,  health,  size,  beauty,  and  good  tem- 
per. Oh,  the  coarse-minded  critics !  Hence  it  befell  that 
in  their  eyes,  especially  after  the  fiddle  business,  David  was 
a  king  compared  with  his  rivals. 

"  If  I  look  at  him  too  long,  I  shall  eat  him,"  said  the 
cook-maid. 

"  He  is  a  darling,"  said  the  upper  house-maid. 

Betsy  aforesaid  often  opened  a  window  to  have  a  sly 
look  at  him,  and  on  one  of  these  occasions  she  inspected 
him  from  an  upper  story  at  her  leisure.  His  manner  drew 
her  attention :  she  saw  him  mount  Lucy,  and  eye  her  de- 
parting form  sadly  and  wistfully.  Betsy  glowered  and 
glowered,  and  hit  the  nail  on  the  head,  as  people  will  do 
who  are  so  absurd  as  to  look  with  their  own  eyes,  and 
draw  their  own  conclusions  instead  of  other  people's.  Aft- 
er this  she  took  an  opportunity,  and  said  to  Tom,  with  a 
satirical  air,  "  How  are  you  off  for  nags,  your  way  ?" 

"  Oh !  we  have  got  enough  for  our  corn,"  replied  Tom, 
on  the  defensive. 

"  It  seems  you  can't  find  one  for  the  captain  among  you." 

"  Will  you  give  me  a  kiss  if  I  make  you  out  a  liar?" 

"  Sooner  than  break  my  arm.  Come,  you  might,  Tom. 
Now  is  it  reasonable,  him  never  to  get  a  ride  with  her,  and 
that  useless  lot  prancing  about  with  her  all  day  long  1" 

"  Why  don't  you  ride  with  em,  capting?" 
"I  have  no  horse." 


LOVE   MB    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LON0.  271 

"I  have  got  a  horse  for  you,  sir — master's." 

"  That  would  be  taking  a  liberty." 

"Liberty,  sir!  no;  master  would  be  so  pleased  if  you 
would  but  ride  him.  He  told  me  so." 

"  Then  saddle  him,  pray." 

"I  have  a-saddled  him.  You  had  better  come  in  the 
stable-yard,  capting ;  then  you  can  mount  and  follow ;  you 
will  catch  them  before  they  reach  the  Downs."  In  anoth- 
er minute  David  was  mounted. 

"Do  you  ride  short  or  long,  capting?"  inquired  Tom, 
handling  the  stirrup-leather. 

David  wore  a  puzzled  look.  "I  ride  as  long  as  I  can 
stick  on  ;"  and  he  trotted  out  of  the  stable-yard.  As  Tom 
had  predicted,  he  caught  the  party  just  as  they  went  off 
the  turnpike  on  to  the  grass.  His  heart  beat  with  joy ;  he 
cantered  in  among  them  :  his  horse  was  fresh,  squeaked, 
and  bucked  at  finding  himself  on  grass,  and  in  company, 
and  David  announced  his  arrival  by  rolling  in  among  their 
horses'  feet  with  the  reins  tight  grasped  in  his  fist.  The 
ladies  screamed  with  terror.  David  got  up  laughing ;  his 
horse  had  hoped  to  canter  away  without  him,  and  now 
stood  facing  him  and  pulling. 

"No  ye  don't,"  said  David.  "I  held  on  to  the  tiller- 
ropes  though  I  did  go  overboai'd."  Then  ensued  a  battle 
between  David  and  his  horse,  the  one  wanting  to  mount, 
the  other  anxious  to  be  unencumbered  with  sailors.  It 
was  settled  by  David  making  a  vault  and  sitting  on  the 
animal's  neck,  on  which  the  ladies  screamed  again,  and 
Lucy,  half  whimpering,  proposed  to  go  home. 

"Don't  think  of  it,"  cried  David.  "I  won't  be  beat  by 
such  a  small  craft  as  this — hallo !"  for,  the  horse  backing 
into  Talboys,  that  gentleman  gave  him  a  clandestine  cut, 
and  he  bolted,  and,  being  a  little  hard-mouthed,  would  gal- 
lop in  spite  of  the  tiller-ropes.  On  came  the  other  nags 
after  him,  all  misbehaving  more  or  less,  so  fine  a  thing  is 
example.  When  they  had  galloped  half  a  mile  the  ground 
began  to  rise,  and  David's  horse  relaxed  his  pace,  whereon 


•272  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

David  whipped  him  industriously,  and  made  him  gallop 
again  in  spite  of  remonstrance. 

The  others  drew  the  rein,  and  left  him  to  gallop  alone. 
Accordingly,  he  made  the  round  of  the  hill  and  came  back, 
his  horse  covered  with  lather  and  its  tail  trembling. 
"  There,"  said  he  to  Lucy,  with  an  air  of  radiant  self-satis- 
faction, "  he  clapped  on  sail  without  orders  from  quarter- 
deck, so  I  made  him  carry  it  till  his  bows  were  under 
water." 

"You  will  kill  my  uncle's  horse,"  was  the  reply,  in  a 
chilling  tone. 

"  Heaven  forbid !" 

"Look  at  its  poor  flank  beating." 

David  hung  his  head  like  a  school-girl  rebuked.  "But 
why  did  he  clap  on  sail  if  he  could  not  carry  it  ?"  inquired 
he,  ruefully,  of  his  monitress. 

The  others  burst  out  laughing ;  but  Lucy  remained  grave 
and  silent. 

David  rode  along  crest-fallen. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  brought  her  pony  close  to  him,  and  whis- 
pered, "  Never  mind  that  little  cross-patch.  She  does  not 
care  a  pin  about  the  horse;  you  interrupted  her  flirtation, 
that  is  all." 

This  piece  of  consolation  soothed  David  like  a  bunch  of 
stinging-nettles. 

While  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  consoling  David  with  thorns, 
Kenealy  and  Talboys  were  quizzing  his  figure  on  horseback. 

He  sat  bent  like  a  bow  and  visibly  sticking  on :  item,  he 
had  no  straps,  and  his  trowsers  rucked  up  half  way  to  his 
knee. 

Lucy's  attention  being  slyly  drawn  to  these  phenomena 
by  David's  friend  Talboys,  she  smiled  politely,  though  some- 
what constrainedly ;  but  the  gentlemen  found  it  a  source  of 
infinite  amusement  during  the  whole  ride,  which,  by  the 
way,  was  not  a  very  long  one,  for  Miss  Fountain  soon  ex- 
pressed a  wish  to  turn  homeward.  David  felt  guilty,  he 
scarce  knew  why. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  273 

The  promised  happiness  was  wormwood.  On  dismount- 
ing, she  went  to  the  lawn  to  tend  her  flowers.  David  fol- 
lowed her,  and  said  bitterly,  "I  am  sorry  I  came  to  spoil 
your  pleasure." 

Miss  Fountain  made  no  answer. 

"  I  thought  I  might  have  one  ride  with  you,  when  others 
have  so  many." 

"  Why,  of  course,  Mr.  Dodd.  If  you  like  to  expose  your- 
self to  ridicule,  it  is  no  affair  of  mine."  The  lady's  manner 
was  a  happy  mixture  of  frigidity  and  crossness.  David 
stood  benumbed,  and  Lucy,  having  emptied  her  flower-pot, 
glided  in-doors  without  taking  any  farther  notice  of  him. 

David  stood  rooted  to  the  spot.  Then  he  gave  a  heavy 
sigh,  and  went  and  leaned  against  one  of  the  pillars  of  the 
portico,  and  every  thing  seemed  to  swim  before  his  eyes. 

Presently  he  heard  a  female  voice  inquire,  "Is  Miss 
Lucy  at  home?"  He  looked,  and  there  was  a  tall,  strap- 
ping woman  in  conference  with  Henry.  She  had  on  a 
large  bonnet  with  flaunting  ribbons,  and  a  bushy  cap  infu- 
riated by  red  flowers.  Henry's  eye  fell  upon  these  embel- 
lishments: "Not  at  home,"  chanted  he,  sonorously. 

"Eh,  dear,"  said  the  woman,  sadly,  "I  have  come  a 
long  way  to  see  her." 

"Not  at  home,  ma'am,"  repeated  Henry,  like  a  vocal 
machine. 

"  My  name  is  Wilson,  young  man,"  said  she,  persuasive- 
ly, and  the  Amazon's  voice  was  mellow  and  womanly  spite 
of  her  coal-scuttle  full  of  field-poppies.  "I  am  her  nurse, 
and  I  have  not  seen  her  this  five  years  come  Martinmas ;" 
and  the  Amazon  gave  a  gentle  sigh  of  disappointment. 

"Not  at  home,  ma'am!"  rang  the  inexorable  Plush. 

But  David's  good  heart  took  the  woman's  part.  "  She 
is  at  home,  now,"  said  he,  coming  forward.  "  I  saw  her 
go  into  the  house  scarce  a  minute  ago." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,  sir,"  said  Mrs.  Wilson.  But  Mr.  Plush's 
face  was  instantly  puckered  all  over  with  signals,  which 
David  not  comprehending,  he  said,  "  Can  I  say  a  word  with 


274  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

you,  sir?"  and,  drawing  him  on  one  side,  objected,  in  an 
injured  and  piteous  tone,  "  We  are  not  at  home  to  such  gal- 
limaufry as  that ;  it  is  as  much  as  my  place  is  worth  to  de- 
nounce that  there  bonnet  to  our  ladies." 

"  Bonnet  be  d d,"  roared  David,  aloud.  "  It  is  her 

old  nurse.  Come,  heave  ahead ;"  and  he  pointed  up  the 
stairs. 

"Any  thing  to  oblige  you,  captain,"  said  Henry,  and 
sauntered  into  the  drawing-room ;  "  Mrs.  Wilson,  ma'am, 
for  Miss  Fountain." 

"  Very  well ;  my  niece  will  be  here  directly." 

Lucy  had  just  gone  to  her  own  room  for  some  working 
materials. 

"You  had  better  come  to  an  anchor  on  this  seat,  Mrs. 
Wilson,"  said  David. 

"  Thank  ye  kindly,  young  gentleman,"  said  Mrs.  Wilson  ; 
and  she  settled  her  stately  figure  on  the  seat.  "I  have 
walked  a  many  miles  to-day  along  of  our  horse  being  lame, 
and  I  am  a  little  tired.  You  are  one  of  the  family,  I  do 
suppose  ?" 

"No,  I  am  only  a  visitor." 

"Ain't  ye,  now?  Well,  thank  ye  kindly,  all  the  same. 
I  have  seen  a  worse  face  than  yours,  I  can  tell  you,"  added 
she ;  for  in  the  midst  of  it  all  she  had  found  time  to  read 
countenances  more  mulierum. 

"And  I  have  seen  a  good  many  hundred  worse  than 
yours,  Mrs.  Wilson." 

Mrs.  Wilson  laughed.  "  Twenty  years  ago,  if  you  had 
said  so,  I  might  have  believed  you,  or  even  ten ;  but,  bless 
you,  I  am  an  old  woman  now,  and  can  say  what  I  choose 
to  the  men.  Forty-two  next  Candlemas." 

In  the  country  they  call  themselves  old  at  forty-two,  be- 
cause they  feel  young.  In  town  they  call  themselves  young 
at  forty-two,  because  they  feel  old. 

David  saw  that  he  had  fallen  in  with  a  gossip;  and,  be- 
ing in  no  humor  for  vague  chat,  he  left  Mrs.  Wilson  to  her- 
self, with  an  assurance  that  Miss  Fountain  would  be  down 
to  her  directly. 


XOVB  MR  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LOKO.         275 

In  leaving  her  he  went  into  worse  company — his  own 
thoughts :  they  were  inexpressibly  sad  and  bitter.  "  She 
hates  me,  then,"  said  he.  "  Every  body  is  welcome  to  her 
at  all  hours  except  me.  That  lady  said  it  was  because  I 
interrupted  her  flirtation.  Ah!  well,  I  sha'n't  interrupt 
her  flirtation  much  longer.  I  sha'n't  be  in  her  way  or  any 
body's  long.  A  few  short  hours,  and  this  bitter  day  will 
be  forgotten,  and  nothing  left  me  but  the  memory  of  the 
kindness  she  had  for  me  once,  or  seemed  to  have,  and  the 
angel  face  I  must  carry  in  my  heart  wherever  I  go,  by  land 
or  sea.  The  sea?  would  to  God  I  was  upon  it  this  minute! 
I'd  rather  be  at  sea  than  ashore,  in  the  dirtiest  night  that 
ever  blew." 

He  had  been  walking  to  and  fro  a  good  half  hour,  deeply 
dejected  and  turning  bitter,  when,  looking  in  accidentally 
at  the  hall  door,  he  caught  sight  of  Mrs.  Wilson  sitting  all 
alone  where  he  had  left  her.  "  Why,  what  on  earth  is  the 
meaning  of  that  ?"  thought  he ;  and  he  went  into  the  hall 
and  asked  Mrs.  Wilson  how  she  came  to  be  there  all  alone. 

"  That  is  what  I  have  been  asking  myself  a  while  past," 
was  the  dry  reply. 

"Have  you  not  seen  her1?" 

"No,  sir,  I  have  not  seen  her,  and,  to  my  mind,  it  is 
doubtful  whether  I  am  to  see  her." 

"But  I  say  you  shall  see  her." 

"  No,  no,  don't  put  yourself  out,  sir,"  said  the  woman, 
carelessly  ;  "  I  dare  say  I  shall  have  better  luck  next  time, 
if  I  should  ever  come  to  this  house  again,  which  it  is  not 
very  likely."  She  added  gently,  "  Young  folk  are  thought- 
less ;  we  must  not  judge  them  too  hardly." 

"Thoughtless  they  may  be,  but  they  have  no  business  to 
be  heartless.  I  have  a  great  mind  to  go  up  and  fetch  her 
down." 

"Don't  ye  trouble,  sir.  It  is  not  worth  while  putting 
you  about  for  an  old  woman  like  me."  Then  suddenly  drop- 
ping the  mask  of  nonchalance,  which  women  of  this  class 
often  put  on  to  hide  their  sensibility,  she  said  very,  very 


276         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

gravely,  and  with  a  sad  dignity,  that  one  would  not  have 
expected  from  her  gossip  and  her  finery,  "  I  begin  to  fear, 
sir,  that  the  child  I  have  suckled  does  not  care  to  know  me 
now  she  is  a  woman  grown." 

David  dashed  up  the  stairs  with  a  red  streak  on  his  brow. 
He  burst  into  the  drawing-room,  and  there  sat  Mrs.  Bazal- 
gette  overlooking,  and  Lucy  working  with  a  face  of  beauti- 
ful calm.  She  looked  just  then  so  very  like  a  pure,  tran- 
quil Madonna  making  an  altar-cloth,  or  something,  that 
David's  intention  to  give  her  a  scolding  was  withered  in  the 
bud,  and  he  gazed  at  her  surprised  and  irresolute,  and  said 
not  a  word. 

"Any  thing  the  matter?"  inquired  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  at- 
tracted by  the  brusqueness  of  his  entry. 

"  Yes,  there  is,"  said  David,  sternly.     Lucy  looked  up. 

"Miss  Fountain's  old  nurse  has  been  sitting  in  the  hall 
more  than  half  an  hour,  and  nobody  has  had  the  politeness 
to  go  near  her." 

"  Oh,  is  that  all  ?  Well,  don't  look  daggers  at  me.  There 
is  Lucy;  give  her  a  lesson  in  good-breeding,  Mr.  Dodd." 
This  was  said  a  little  satirically,  and  rather  nettled  David. 

"  Perhaps  it  does  not  become  me  to  set  up  for  a  teacher 
of  that :  I  know  my  own  deficiencies  as  well  as  any  body  in 
this  house  knows  them ;  but  this  I  know,  that,  if  an  old 
friend  walked  eight  miles  to  see  me,  it  would  not  be  good- 
breeding  in  me  to  refuse  to  walk  eight  yards  to  see  her. 
And,  another  thing,  every  body's  time  is  worth  something ; 
if  I  did  not  mean  to  see  her,  I  would  have  that  much  con- 
sideration to  send  down  and  tell  her  so,  and  not  keep  the 
woman  wasting  her  time  as  well  as  her  trouble,  and  vexing 
her  heart  into  the  bargain." 

"Where  is  she,  Mr.  Dodd?"  asked  Lucy,  quickly. 

"Where  is  she?"  cried  David,  getting  louder  and  louder. 
"Why,  she  is  cooling  her  heels  in  the  hall  this  half  hour 
and  more.  They  hadn't  the  manners  to  show  her  into  a 
room." 

"  I  will  go  to  her,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  Lucy,  turning  a  little 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  277 

pale.  "Don't  be  angry;  I  will  go  directly;"  and,  having 
said  this  with  an  abject  slavishness  that  formed  a  miracu- 
lous contrast  with  her  late  crossness  and  imperious  chilli- 
ness, she  put  down  her  work  hastily  and  went  out ;  only  at 
the  door  she  curved  her  throat,  and  cast  back,  Parthian-like, 
a  glance  of  timid  reproach,  as  much  as  to  say,  "Need  you 
have  been  so  very  harsh  with  a  creature  so  obedient  as 
this  is?" 

That  deprecating  glance  did  Mr.  Dodd's  business.  It 
shot  him  with  remorse,  and  made  him  feel  a  brute. 

"  Ha !  ha !  That  is  the  way  to  speak  to  her,  Mr.  Dodd ; 
the  other  gentlemen  spoil  her." 

"  It  was  very  unbecoming  of  me  to  speak  to  her  harshly 
like  that." 

"  Pooh !  nonsense ;  these  girls  like  to  be  ordered  about ; 
it  saves  them  the  trouble  of  thinking  for  themselves ;  but 
what  is  to  become  of  me?  you  have  sent  off  my  work- 
woman." 

"  I  will  do  her  work  for  her." 

"  What !  can  you  sew?" 

"  Where  is  the  sailor  that  can't  sew?" 

"  Delightful !  Then  please  to  sew  these  two  thick  ends 
together.  Here  is  a  large  needle." 

David  whipped  out  of  his  pocket  a  round  piece  of  leather 
with  strings  attached,  and  fastened  it  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand. 

"What  is  that?" 

"It  is  a  sailor's  thimble."  He  took  the  work,  held  it 
neatly,  and  shoved  the  needle  from  behind  through  the 
thick  material.  He  worked  slowly  and  uncouthly,  but  with 
the  precision  that  was  a  part  of  his  character,  and  made 
exact  and  strong  stitches.  His  task-mistress  looked  on,  and, 
under  the  pretense  of  minute  inspection,  brought  a  face  that 
was  still  arch  and  pretty  unnecessarily  close  to  the  marine 
milliner,  in  which  attitude  they  were  surprised  by  Mr.  Ba- 
zalgette,  who,  having  come  in  through  the  open  folding- 
doors,  stood  looking  mighty  sardonic  at  them  both  before 
they  were  even  aware  he  was  in  the  room. 


278         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Omphale  colored  faintly,  but  Hercules  gave  a  cool  nod  to 
the  new-comer,  and  stitched  on  with  characteristic  zeal  and 
strict  attention  to  the  matter  in  hand. 

At  this  Bazalgette  uttered  a  sort  of  chuckle,  at  which 
Mrs.  Bazelgette  turned  red.  David  stitched  on  for  the  bare 
life. 

"  I  came  to  offer  to  invite  you  to  my  study,  but — " 

"  I  can't  come  just  now,"  said  David,  bluntly ;  "  I  am  do- 
ing a  lady's  work  for  her." 

"So  I  see,"  retorted  Bazalgette  dryly. 

"We  all  dine  with  the  Hunts  but  you  and  Mr.  Dodd," 
said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  "  so  you  will  be  en  tete-a-tete  all  the 
evening." 

"All  the  better  for  us  both."  And  with  this  ingrati- 
ating remark  Mr.  Bazalgette  retired  whistling. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  heaved  a  gentle  sigh :  "  Pity  me,  my 
friend,"  said  she,  softly. 

"What  is  the  matter?"  inquired  David,  rather  bluntly. 

"  Mr.  Bazalgette  is  so  harsh  to  me — ah ! — to  me,  who 
long  so  for  kindness  and  gentleness  that  I  feel  I  could  give 
my  very  soul  in  exchange  for  them." 

The  bait  did  not  take. 

"  It  is  only  his  manner,"  said  David,  good-naturedly. 
"  His  heart  is  all  right :  I  never  met  a  better.  What  sort 
of  a  knot  is  that  you  are  tying?  Why  that  is  a  granny's 
knot ;"  and  he  looked  morose,  at  which  she  looked  amazed; 
so  he  softened,  and  explained  to  her  with  benevolence  the 
rationale  of  a  knot.  "  A  knot  is  a  fastening  intended  to  be 
undone  again  by  fingers,  and  not  to  come  undone  without 
them.  Accordingly,  a  knot  is  no  knot  at  all  if  it  jams  or 
if  it  slips.  A  granny's  knot  does  both  :  when  you  want  to 
untie  it  you  must  pick  at  it  like  taking  a  nail  out  of  a  board, 
and  for  all  that,  sooner  or  later  it  always  comes  undone  of 
itself;  now  you  look  here;"  and  he  took  a  piece  of  string 
out  of  his  pocket,  and  tied  her  a  sailor's  knot,  bidding  her 
observe  that  she  could  untie  it  at  once,  but  it  could  never 
come  untied  of  itself.  He  showed  her  with  this  piece  of 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  279 

string  half  a  dozen  such  knots,  none  of  which  could  either 
jam  or  slip. 

"  Tie  me  a  lover's  knot,"  suggested  the  lady,  in  a  whisper. 

"  Ay  !  ay !"  and  he  tied  her  a  lover's  knot  as  imperturba- 
bly  as  he  had  the  reef-knot,  bowling-knot,  fisherman's  bend, 
&c. 

"  This  is  very  interesting,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  ironic- 
ally. She  thought  David  might  employ  a  tete-a-tete  with  a 
flirt  better  than  this.  "  What  a  time  Lucy  is  gone !" 

"  All  the  better." 

"  Why  ?"  and  she  looked  down  in  mock  confusion. 

"  Because  poor  Mrs.  Wilson  will  be  glad." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  piqued  at  this  unexpected  answer. 
"You  seem  quite  captivated  with  this  Mrs.  Wilson  ;  it  was 
for  her  sake  you  took  Lucy  to  task.  Apropos,  you  need  not 
have  scolded  her,  for  she  did  not  know  the  woman  was  in 
the  house." 

"  What  do  you  mean "?" 

"I  mean  Lucy  was  not  in  the  room  when  Mrs.  Wilson 
was  announced.  7  was,  but  I  did  not  tell  her ;  the  all-im- 
portant circumstance  had  escaped  my  memory.  Where  are 
you  running  to  now  ?" 

"Where?  why,  to  ask  her  pardon,  to  be  sure." 

Mrs.  B.  [Brute !] 

David  ran  down  the  stairs  to  look  for  Lucy,  but  he  found 
somebody  else  instead — his  sister  Eve,  whom  the  servant 
had  that  moment  admitted  into  the  hall.  It  was  "  Oh, 
Eve!"  and  "Oh,  David!"  directly,  and  an  affectionate  em- 
brace. 

"You  got  my  letter,  David?" 

"No." 

"  Well,  then,  you  will  before  long.  I  wrote  to  tell  you 
to  look  out  for  me :  I  had  better  have  brought  the  letter  in 
my  pocket.  I  didn't  know  I  was  coming  till  just  an  hour 
before  I  started.  Mother  insisted  on  my  going  to  see  the 

last  of  you.  Cousin  Mary  had  invited  me  to  ,  so  I 

shall  see  you  off,  Davy  dear,  after  all.  I  thought  I'd  just 


280  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

pop  in  and  let  you  know  I  was  in  the  neighborhood.  Mary 
and  her  husband  are  outside  the  gate  in  their  four-wheel. 
I  would  not  let  them  drive  in,  because  I  want  to  hear  your 
story,  and  they  would  have  bothered  us." 
r  "  Eve,  dear,  I  have  no  good  news  for  you.  Your  words 
have  come  true.  I  have  been  perplexed,  up  and  down,  hot 
and  cold,  till  I  feel  sometimes  like  going  mad.  Eve,  I  can 
not  fathom  her.  She  is  deeper  than  the  ocean,  and  more 
changeable.  What  am  I  saying?  the  sea  and  the  wind; 
they  are  to  be  read ;  they  have  their  signs  and  their  warn- 
ings ;  but  she — " 

"There!  there!  that  is  the  old  song.  I  tell  you  it  is 
only  a  girl — a  creature  as  shallow  as  a  puddle,  and  as  easy 
to  fathom,  as  you  call  it,  only  men  are  so  stupid,  especially 
boys.  Now  just  you  tell  me  all  she  has  said,  all  she  has 
done,  and  all  she  has  looked,  and  I  will  turn  her  inside  out 
like  a  glove  in  a  minute." 

Cheered  by  this  audacious  pledge,  David  pumped  upon 
Eve  all  that  has  trickled  on  my  readers,  and  some  minor 
details  besides,  and  repeated  Lucy's  every  word,  sweet  or 
bitter,  and  recalled  her  lightest  action — Meminerunt  omnia 
amantes — and  every  now  and  then  he  looked  sadly  into  Eve's 
keen  little  face  for  his  doom. 

She  heard  him  in  silence  until  the  last  fatal  incident, 
Lucy's  severity  on  the  lawn.  Then  she  put  in  a  question. 
"Were  those  her  exact  words?" 

"  Do  I  ever  forget  a  syllable  she  says  to  me  ?" 

"  Don't  be  angry.  I  forgot  what  a  ninny  she  has  made 
of  you.  Well,  David,  it  is  all  as  plain  as  my  hand.  The 
girl  likes  you — that  is  all." 

"The  girl  likes  me?  What  do  you  mean?  How  can 
you  say  that  ?  What  sign  of  liking  is  there  ?" 

"There  are  two.  She  avoids  you,  and  she  has  been 
rude  to  you." 

"  And  those  are  signs  of  liking,  are  they  ?"  said  David, 
bitterly. 

"  Why,  of  course  they  are,  stupid.  Tell  me,  now,  does 
•he  shun  this  Captain  Keely  ?" 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         281 

"Kenealy.     No." 

"  Does  she  shun  Mr.  Harvey  ?" 

"Hardie.     No." 

"  Does  she  shun  Mr.  Talboys  ?" 

"  Oh,  Eve,  you  break  my  heart — no !  no !  She  shuns 
no  one  but  poor  David." 

"Now  think  a  little.  Here  are  three  on  one  sort  of 
footing,  and  one  on  a  different  footing ;  which  is  likeli- 
est to  be  the  man,  the  one  or  the  three?  You  have  gain- 
ed a  point  since  we  were  all  together.  She  distinguishes 
you." 

"  But  what  a  way  to  distinguish  me :  it  looks  more  like 
hatred  than  love,  or  liking  either." 

"Not  to  my  eye.  Why  should  she  shun  you  ?  You  are 
handsome,  you  are  good-tempered,  and  good  company. 
Why  should  she  be  shy  of  you  ?  She  is  afraid  of  you,  that 
is  why  ;  and  why  is  she  afraid  of  you  ?  because  she  is  afraid 
of  her  own  heart :  that  is  how  I  read  her.  Then,  as  for 
her  snubbing  you,  if  her  character  was  like  mine,  that 
ought  to  go  for  nothing,  for  I  snub  all  the  world ;  but  this 
is  a  little  queen  for  politeness.  I  can't  think  she  would  go 
so  far  out  of  her  way  as  to  affront  any  body  unless  she  had 
an  uncommon  respect  for  him." 

"  Listen  to  that,  now !     I  am  on  my  beam-ends." 

"  Now  think  a  minute,  David,"  said  Eve,  calmly,  ignor- 
ing his  late  observation;  "did  you  ever  know  her  snub 
any  body  ?" 

"  Never.     Did  you  ?" 

"No;  and  she  never  would,  unless  she  took  an  uncom- 
mon interest  in  the  person.  When  a  girl  likes  a  man,  she 
thinks  she  has  a  right  to  ill  use  him  a  little  bit ;  he  has 
got  her  affection  to  set  against  a  scratch  or  two ;  the  others 
have  not.  So  she  has  not  the  same  right  to  scratch  them. 
La !  listen  to  me  teaching  him  ABC.  Why,  David,  you 
know  nothing  ;  it's  scandalous." 

Eve's  confidence  communicated  itself  at  last  to  David ; 
but  when  he  asked  her  whether  she  thought  Lucy  would 


282  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

consent  to  be  his  wife,  her  countenance  fell  in  her  turn. 
"  That  is  a  very  different  thing.  I  am  pretty  sure  she 
likes  you;  how  could  she  help  it?  but  I  doubt  she  will 
never  go  to  the  altar  with  you.  Don't  be  angry  with  me, 
Davy,  dear.  You  are  in  love  with  her,  and  to  you  she  is 
an  angel.  But  I  am  of  her  own  sex,  and  see  her  as  she  is ; 
no  mutter  who  she  likes,  she  will  never  be  content  to  make 
a  bad  match  as  they  call  it.  She  told  me  so  once  with  her 
own  lips.  But  she  had  no  need  to  tell  me ;  worldliness  is 
written  on  her.  David,  David,  you  don't  know  these  great 
houses,  nor  the  fair-spoken  creatures  that  live  in  them,  with 
tongues  tuned  to  sentiment,  and  mild  eyes  fixed  on  the  main 
chance.  Their  drawing-rooms  are  carpeted  market-places; 
you  may  see  the  stones  bulge  through  the  flowery  pattern ; 
there  the  ladies  sell  their  faces,  the  gentlemen  their  titles 
arid  their  money ;  and  much  I  fear  Miss  Fountain's  hand 
will  go  like  the  rest — to  the  highest  bidder." 

"  If  I  thought  so,  my  love,  deep  as  it  is,  would  turn  to 
contempt ;  1  would  tear  her  out  of  my  heart,  though  I  tore 
my  heart  out  of  my  body."  He  added,  "  I  will  know  what 
she  is  before  many  hours." 

"Do,  David.  Take  her  off  her  guard,  and  make  hot 
love  to  her :  that  is  your  best  chance.  It  is  a  pity  you  are 
so  much  in  love  with  her;  you  might  win  her  by  a  sur- 
prise if  you  only  liked  her  in  moderation." 

"  How  so,  dear  Eve  !" 

"  The  battle  would  be  more  even.  Your  adoring  her 
gives  her  the  upper  hand  of  you.  She  is  sure  to  say  'no' 
at  first,  and  then  I  am  afraid  you  will  leave  off,  instead  of 
going  on  hotter  and  hotter.  The  very  look  she  will  put  on 
to  check  you  will  check  you,  you  are  so  green.  What  a 
pity  I  can't  take  your  place  for  half  an  hour.  I  would 
have  her  against  her  will.  I  would  take  her  by  storm.  If 
she  said  'no'  twenty  times,  she  should  say  'yes'  the  twen- 
ty-first ;  .but  you  are  afraid  of  her:  fancy  being  afraid  of  a 
woman.  Come,  David,  you  must  not  shilly-shally,  but  at- 
tack her  like  a  man ;  and  if  she  is  such  a  fool  she  can't  see 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         283 

your  merit,  forgive  her  like  a  man,  and  forget  her  like  a 
man.  Come,  promise  me  you  will." 

"  I  promise  you  this,  that  if  I  lose  her  it  shall  not  be  for 
want  of  trying  to  win  her  ;  and,  if  she  refuses  me  because  I 
am  not  her  fancy,  I  shall  die  a  bachelor  for  her  sake."  Eve 
sighed.  "  But  if  she  is  the  mercenary  thing  you  take  her 
for — if  she  owns  to  liking  me,  but  prefers  money  to  love, 
then  from  that  moment  she  is  no  more  to  me  than  a  picture 
or  a  statue,  or  any  other  lovely  thing  that  has  no  soul." 

With  these  determined  words  he  gave  his  sister  his  arm, 
and  walked  with  her  through  the  grounds  to  the  road 
where  her  cousin  was  waiting  for  her. 

Lucy  found  Mrs.  Wilson  in  the  hall.  "  Come  into  the 
library,  Mrs.  Wilson,"  said  she :  "  I  have  only  just  heard 
you  were  here.  Won't  you  sit  down?  Are  you  not  well, 
Mrs.  Wilson  ?  You  tremble.  You  are  fatigued,  I  fear. 
Pray  compose  yourself.  May  I  ring  for  a  glass  of  wine 
for  you?" 

"  No,  no,  Miss  Lucy,"  said  the  woman,  smiling ;  "  it  is 
only  along  of  you  coming  to  me  so  sudden,  and  you  so 
grown.  Eh !  sure,  can  this  fine  young  lady  be  the  little 
girl  I  held  in  my  lap  but  t'other  day,  as  it  seems?" 

There  was  an  agitation  and  ardor  about  Mrs.  Wilson 
that,  coupled  with  the  flaming  bonnet,  made  Miss  Fountain 
uneasy.  She  thought  Mrs.  Wilson  must  be  a  little  crack- 
ed, or  at  least  flighty. 

"  Pray  compose  yourself,  madam,"  said  she,  soothingly, 
but  with  that  dignity  nobody  could  assume  more  readily 
than  she  could.  "  I  dare  say  I  am  much  grown  since  I 
last  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you ;  but  I  have  not  out- 
grown my  memory,  and  am  happy  to  receive  you,  or  any 
of  our  old  servants  that  knew  my  dear  mother." 

"Then  I  must  not  look  for  a  welcome,"  said  Mrs.  Wil- 
son, with  feminine  logic,  "for  I  was  never  your  servant, 
nor  your  mamma's."  Lucy  opened  her  eyes,  and  her  face 
sought  an  explanation. 


284  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  I  never  took  any  money  for  what  I  gave  you,  so  how 
could  I  be  a  servant  ?  To  see  me  a  dangling  of  my  heels 
in  your  hall  so  long,  one  would  say  I  was  a  servant ;  but  I 
am  not  a  servant,  nor  like  to  be,  please  God,  unless  I 
should  have  the  ill  luck  to  bury  my  two  boys,  as  I  have 
their  father.  So  perhaps  the  best  thing  I  can  do,  miss,  is 
to  drop  you  my  courtesy,  and  walk  back  as  I  came."  The 
Amazon's  manner  was  singularly  independent  and  calm, 
but  the  tell-tale  tears  were  in  her  large  gray  honest  eyes 
before  she  ended. 

Lucy's  natural  penetration  and  habit  of  attending  to  faces 
rather  than  words  came  to  her  aid.  "  Wait  a  minute,  Mrs. 
Wilson,"  said  she ;  "  I  think  there  is  some  misunderstand- 
ing here.  Perhaps  the  fault  is  mine.  And  yet  I  remem- 
ber more  than  one  nursery-maid  that  was  kind  enough  to 
me ;  but  I  have  heard  nothing  of  them  since." 

"  Their  blood  is  not  in  your  veins  as  mine  is,  unless  the 
doctors  have  lanced  it  out." 

"  I  never  was  bled  in  my  life,  if  you  mean  that,  madam. 
But  I  must  ask  you  to  explain  how  I  can  possibly  have  the 
—the  advantage  of  possessing  your  blood  in  my  veins." 

Mrs.  Wilson  eyed  her  keenly.  "  Perhaps  I  had  better 
tell  you  the  story  from  first  to  last,  young  lady,"  said  she 
quietly. 

"  If  you  please,"  said  the  courtier,  mastering  a  sigh  ;  for 
in  Mrs.  Wilson  there  was  much  that  promised  fluency. 

"  Well,  miss,  when  you  came  into  the  world,  your  mam- 
ma could  not  nurse  you.  I  do  notice  the  gentry  that  eat 
the  fat  of  the  land  are  none  the  better  for  it ;  for  a  poor 
woman  can  do  a  mother's  part  by  her  child,  but  high-born 
and  high-fed  folk  can't  always;  so  you  had  to  be  brought 
up  by  hand,  miss,  and  it  did  not  agree  with  you,  and  that 
is  no  great  wonder,  seeing  it  is  against  nature.  Well,  my 
little  girl,  that  was  born  just  two  days  after  you,  died  in 
my  arms  of  convulsion  fits  when  slie  was  just  a  month  old. 
She  had  only  just  been  buried,  and  me  in  bitter  grief,  when 
doesn't  the  doctor  call  and  ask  me  as  a  great  favor,  would 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  285 

I  nurse  Mrs.  Fountain's  child,  that  was  pining  for  want  of 
its  natural  food?  I  bade  him  get  out  of  my  sight.  I  felt 
as  if  no  woman  had  a  right  to  have  a  child  living  when  my 
little  darling  was  gone.  But  my  husband,  a  just  man  as 
ever  was,  said,  '  Take  a  thought,  Mary ;  the  child  is  really 
pining  by  all  accounts.'  Well,  I  would  not  listen  to  him. 
But  next  Sunday,  after  afternoon  church,  my  mother,  that 
had  not  said  a  word  till  then,  comes  to  me,  and  puts  her 
hand  on  my  shoulder  with  a  quiet  way  she  had,  'Mary,' 
says  she,  '  I  am  older  than  you,  and  have  known  more.' 
She  had  buried  six  of  UP,  poor  thing.  Says  she,  scarce 
above  a  whisper,  '  Suckle  that  failing  child.  It  will  be  the 
better  for  her,  and  the  better  for  you,  Mary,  my  girl.' 
Well,  miss,  my  mother  was  a  woman  that  didn't  interfere 
every  minute,  and  seldom  gave  her  reasons ;  but,  if  you 
scorned  her  advice,  you  mostly  found  them  out  to  your 
cost ;  and  then  she  was  my  mother ;  and  in  those  days 
mothers  were  more  thought  of,  leastways  by  us  that  were 
women  and  had  suffered  for  our  children,  and  so  learned  to 
prize  the  woman  that  had  suffered  for  us.  '  Well,  then,'  I 
said,  'if  you  say  so,  mother,  I  suppose  I  didn't  ought  to 
gainsay  you,  on  the  Lord  his  day.'  For  you  see  my  moth- 
er was  one  that  chose  her  time  for  speaking — eh !  but  she 
was  wise.  'Mother,'  says  I,  '  to  oblige  you,  so  be  it;'  and 
with  that  I  fell  to  crying  sore  on  my  mother's  neck,  and 
she  wasn't  long  behind  me,  you  may  be  sure.  Whiles  we 
sat  a  crying  in  one  another's  arms,  in  comes  John,  and 
goes  to  speak  a  word  of  comfort.  '  It  is  not  that,'  says  my 
mother ;  '  she  have  given  her  consent  to  nurse  Mrs.  Fount- 
ain's little  girl."  'It  is  much  to  her  credit,'  says  he:  says 
he,  'I  will  take  her  up  to  the  house  myself.'  'What  for?' 
says  I ;  '  them  that  grants  the  favor  has  no  call  to  run  after 
them  that  asks  it.'  You  see,  Miss  Lucy,  that  was  my  ig- 
norance ;  we  were  small  farmers,  too  independent  to  be 
fawning,  and  not  high  enough  to  weed  ourselves  of  uppish- 
ness.  Your  mamma,  she  was  a  real  lady,  so  she  had  no 
need  to  trouble  about  her  dignity ;  she  thought  only  of  her 


286  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOTE  ME  LONG. 

child ;  and  she  didn't  send  the  child,  but  she  came  with  it 
herself.  Well,  she  came  into  our  kitchen,  and  made  her 
obeisance,  and  we  to  her,  and  mother  dusted  her  a  seat. 
She  was  pale-like,  and  a  mother's  care  was  in  her  face,  and 
that  went  to  my  heart.  *  This  is  very,  very  kind  of  you, 
Mrs.  Wilson,'  said  she.  Those  were  her  words.  '  Mayhap 
it  is,'  says  I ;  and  my  heart  felt  like  lead.  Mother  made  a 
sign  to  your  mamma  that  she  should  not  hurry  me.  I  saw 
the  signal,  for  I  was  as  quick  as  she  was ;  but  I  ne/er  let 
on  I  saw  it.  At  last  I  plucked  up  a  bit  of  courage,  and  I 
said,  'Let  me  see  it.'  So  mother  took  you  from  the  girl 
that  held  you  all  wrapped  up,  and  mother  put  you  on  my 
knees  ;  and  I  took  a  good  look  at  you.  You  had  the  sweet- 
est little  face  that  ever  came  into  the  world,  but  all  peaked 
and  pining  for  want  of  nature.  With  you  being  on  my 
knees,  my  bosom  began  to  yearn  over  you,  it  did.  'The 
child  is  starved,'  said  I ;  'that  is  all  its  grief.  And,'  says 
I,  'you  did  right  to  bring  it  here.'  Your  mother  clasps  her 
hands,  'Oh!  Mrs.  Wilson,'  says  she,  'God  grant  it  is  not 
too  late.'  So  then  I  smiled  back  to  her,  and  I  said,  '  Don't 
you  fret;  in  a  fortnight  you  sha'n't  know  her.'  You  see  I 
was  beginning  to  feel  proud  of  what  I  knew  I  could  do  for 
you.  I  was  a  healthy  young  woman,  and  could  have  nursed 
two  children  as  easy  as  some  can  one.  To  make  a  long 
story  short,  I  gave  you  the  bVeast  then  and  there ;  and  you 
didn't  leave  us  long  in  doubt  whether  cow's  milk  or  moth- 
er's milk  is  God's  will  for  sucklings.  Well,  your  mamma 
put  her  hands  before  her  face,  and  I  saw  the  tears  force 
their  way  between  her  fingers.  So,  when  she  was  gone,  I 
said  to  my  mother,  'What  was.  that  for?'  'I  sha'n't  tell 
you,'  says  she.  '  Do,  mother,'  says  I.  So  she  said,  '  I  won- 
der at  your  having  to  ask ;  can't  you  see  it  was  jealousy- 
like.  Do  you  think  she  has  not  her  burden  to  bear  in  this 
world  as  well  as  you  ?  How  would  you  like  to  see  another 
woman  do  a  mother's  part  for  a  child  of  yours,  and  you  sit 
looking  on  like  a  toy-mother?'  Eh  !  Miss  Lucy,  but  I  was 
vexed  for  her  at  that,  and  my  heart  softened ;  and  I  used 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME    LONG.  287 

to  take  you  up  to  the  great  house,  and  spend  nearly  the 
whole  day  there,  not  to  rob  her  of  her  child  more  than 
need  be." 

"  Oh,  Mrs.  Wilson !  oh,  you  kind,  noble-hearted  creature, 
surely  heaven  will  reward  you." 

"That  is  past  praying  for,  my  dear.  Heaven  wasn't 
going  to  be  long  in  debt  to  a  farmer's  wife,  you  may  be 
sure;  not  a  day,  not  an  hour.  I  had  hardly  laid  you  to 
my  breast  when  you  seemed  to  grow  to  my  heart.  My 
milk  had  been  tormenting  me,  for  one  thing.  My  good 
mother  had  thought  of  that,  I'll  go  bail ;  and,  of  course, 
you  relieved  me.  But,  above  all,  you  numbed  the  wound 
in  my  heart,  and  healed  it  by  degrees :  a  part  of  my  love 
that  lay  in  the  church-yard  seemed  to  come  back  like,  and 
settle  on  the  little  helpless  darling  that  milked  me.  At 
whiles  I  forgot  you  were  not  my  own ;  and  even  when  I 
remembered  it,  it  was — I  don't  know — somehow — as  if  it 
wasn't  so.  I  knew  in  "my  head  you  were  none  of  mine, 
but  what  of  that?  I  didn't  feel  it  here.  Well,  miss,  I 
nursed  you  a  year  and  two  months,  and  a  finer  little  girl 
never  was  seen,  and  such  a  weight !  And,  of  course,  I  was 
proud  of  you  ;  and  often  your  dear  mother  tried  to  persuade 
me  to  take  a  twenty-pound  note,  or  ten  ;  but  I  never  would. 
I  could  not  sell  my  milk  to  a  queen.  I'd  refuse  it,  or  I'd 
make  a  gift  of  it,  and  the  love  that  goes  with  it,  which  is 
beyond  price.  I  didn't  say  so  to  her  in  so  many  words, 
but  I  did  use  to  tell  her,  '  I  was  as  much  in  her  little  girl's 
debt  as  she  was  in  mine,'  and  so  I  was.  But  as  for  a  silk 
gown,  and  a  shawl,  and  the  like,  I  didn't  say  '  No'  to  them ; 
who  ever  does  ?" 

"  Nurse !" 

"My  lamb!" 

"  Can  you  ever  forgive  me  for  confounding  you  with  a 
servant?  I  am  so  inexperienced.  I  knew  nothing  of  all 
this." 

"  Oh,  Miss  Lucy,  'let  that  flea  stick  in  the  wall,'  as  the 
saying  is." 


288  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOTE   ME   LONG. 

"  But,  dear  Mrs.  Wilson — now  only  think  that  your  af- 
fection for  me  should  have  lasted  all  these  years.  You 
speak  as  if  such  tenderness  was  common.  I  fear  you  are 
mistaken  there :  most  nurses  go  away,  and  think  no  more 
of  those  to  whom  they  have  been  as  mothers  in  infancy." 

"How  do  you  know  that,  Miss  Lucy?  "Who  can  tell 
what  passes  inside  those  poor  women  that  are  ground  down 
into  slaves,  and  never  dare  show  their  real  hearts  to  a  liv- 
ing creature?  Certainly  hirelings  will  be  hirelings,  and  a 
poor  creature  that  is  forced  to  sell  her  breast,  and  is  bun- 
dled off  as  soon  as  she  has  served  the  grand  folk's  turn,  why 
she  behooves  to  steel  herself  against  nature,  and  she  knows 
that  from  the  first ;  but  whether  she  always  does  get  to 
harden  herself,  I  take  leave  to  doubt.  Miss  Lucy,  I  knew 
an  unfortunate  girl  that  nursed  a  young  gentleman,  least- 
ways a  young  nobleman  it  was,  and  years  after  that  I  have 
known  her  to  stand  outside  the  hedge  for  an  hour  to  catch 
a  sight  of  him  at  play  on  the  lawn  among  the  other  chil- 
dren. Ay,  and  if  she  had  a  penny  piece  to  spare,  she  would 
go  and  buy  him  sugar-plums,  and  lay  wait  for  him,  and 
give  them  him,  and  he  heir  to  thousands  a  year." 

"  Poor  thing !     Poor  thing !" 

"  Next  to  the  tie  of  blood,  Miss  Lucy,  the  tie  of  milk  is 
a  binding  affection.  When  you  went  to  live  twenty  miles 
from  us,  I  behooved  to  come  in  the  cart  and  see  you  from 
time  to  time." 

"  I  remember,  nurse,  I  remember." 

"When  I  came  to  our  new  farm  hard  by,  you  were 
away ;  but  as  soon  as  I  heard  you  were  come  back,  it  was 
like  a  magnet  drawing  me.  I  could  not  keep  away  from 
you." 

"  Heaven  forbid  you  should ;  and  I  will  come  and  see 
you,  dear  nurse." 

"Will  ye,  now"?  Do  now.  I  have  got  a  nice  little  par- 
lor for  you.  It  is  a  very  good  house  for  a  farm-house  ;  and 
there  we  can  set  and  talk  at  our  ease,  and  no  fine  servants, 
dressed  like  lords,  coming  staring  in." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         289 

Luey  now  proffered  a  timid  request  that  Mrs.  Wilson 
would  take  off  her  bonnet.  "  I  want  to  see  your  good  kind 
face  without  any  ornament." 

"Hear  to  that,  now,  the  darling;"  and  off  came  the 
bonnet. 

"Now  your  cap." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know ;  I  hadn't  time  to  do  my  hair  as 
should  be  before  coming." 

"  What  does  that  matter  with  me  ?  I  must  see  you  with- 
out that  cap." 

"What!  don't  you  like  my  new  cap?  Isn't  it  a  pretty 
cap  ?  Why,  I  bought  it  a  purpose  to  come  and  see  you  in." 

"  Oh,  it  is  a  very  pretty  cap  in  itself,"  said  the  courtier, 
"  but  it  does  not  suit  the  shape  of  your  face.  Oh,  what  a 
difference !  Ah  !  now  I  see  your  heart  in  your  face.  Will 
you  let  me  make  you  a  cap  ?" 

"  Will  you,  now,  Miss  Lucy  ?  I  shall  be  so  proud  wear- 
ing it  our  house  will  scarce  hold  me." 

At  this  juncture  a  footman  came  in  with  a  message  from 
Mrs.  Bazalgette  to  remind  Lucy  that  they  dined  out. 

"  I  must  go  and  dress,  nurse."  She  then  kissed  her,  and 
promised  to  ride  over  and  visit  her  at  her  farm  next  week, 
and  spend  a  long  time  with  her  quietly,  and  so  these  new 
old  friends  parted. 

Lucy  pondered  every  word  Mrs.  Wilson  had  said  to  her, 
and  said  to  herself,  "  What  a  child  I  am  still !  How  little 
I  know !  How  feebly  I  must  have  observed !" 

The  party  at  dinner  consisted  of  Mr.  Bazalgette,  David, 
and  Reginald,  who,  taking  advantage  of  his  mother's  ab- 
sence and  Lucy's,  had  prevailed  on  the  servants  to  let  him 
dine  with  the  grown-up  ones.  "  Hallo !  urchin,"  said  Mr. 
Bazalgette,  "  to  what  do  we  owe  this  honor?" 

"Papa,"  said  Reginald,  quaking  at  heart,  "if  I  don't 
ever  begin  to  be  a  man,  what  is  to  become  of  me  ?" 

Mr.  Reginald  did  not  exhibit  his  full  powers  at  dinner- 
time. He  was  greatest  at  dessert.  Peaches  and  apricots 
fell  like  blackberries.  He  topped  up  with  the  ginger  and 

N 


290  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

other  preserves;  then  he  uttered  a  sigh,  and  his  eye  dwelt 
on  some  candied  pine-apple  he  had  respited  too  long.  Put- 
ting the  pine-apple's  escape  and  the  sigh  together,  Mr.  Ba- 
zalgette  judged  that  absolute  repletion  had  been  attained. 
"  Come,  Reginald,"  said  he,  "  run  away  now,  and  let  Mr. 
Dodd  and  me  have  our  talk."  Before  the  words  were  even 
out  of  his  mouth  a  howl  broke  from  the  terrible  infant. 
He  had  evidently  feared  the  proposal,  and  got  this  dismal 
howl  all  ready. 

"  Oh,  papa !  oh !  oh !" 

"What  is  the  matter?" 

"Don't  make  me  go  away  with  the  ladies  this  time. 
Jane  says  I  am  not  a  man  because  I  go  away  when  the  la- 
dies go.  And  Cousin  Lucy  won't  marry  me  till  I  am  a 
man.  Oh,  papa,  do  let  me  be  a  man  this  once." 

"  Let  him  stay,  sir,"  said  David. 

"Then  he  must  go  and  play  at  the  end  of  the  room,  and 
not  interrupt  our  conversation." 

Mr.  Reginald  consented  with  rapture.  He  had  got  a 
new  puzzle.  He  could  play  at  it  in  a  corner  ;  all  he  want- 
ed was  to  be  able  to  stop  Jane's  mouth,  should  she  ever 
jeer  him  again.  Reginald  thus  disposed  of,  Mr.  Bazalgette 
courted  David  to  -replenish  his  glass  and  sit  round  to  the 
fire.  The  fire  was  huge  and  glowing,  the  cut  glass  sparkled, 
and  the  ruby  wine  glowed,  and  even  the  faces  shone,  and  all 
invited  genial  talk.  Yet  David,  on  the  eve  of  his  depart- 
ure and  of  his  fate,  oppressed  with  suspense  and  care,  was 
out  of  the  reach  of  those  genial,  superficial  influences.  He 
could  only  just  mutter  a  word  of  assent  here  and  there,  then 
relapsed  into  his  reverie,  and  eyed  the  fire  thoughtfully,  as 
if  his  destiny  lay  there  revealed.  Mr.  Bazalgette,  on  the 
contrary,  glowed  more  and  more  in  manner  as  well  as  face, 
and,  like  many  more  of  his  countrymen,  seemed  to  imbibe 
friendship  with  each  fresh  glass  of  port. 

At  last,  under  the  double  influence  of  his  real  liking  for 
David  and  of  the  Englishman-thawing  Portuguese  decoc- 
tion, he  gave  his  favorite  a  singular  proof  of  friendship.  It 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG.  291 

came  about  as  follows.  Observing  that  he  had  all  the  talk 
to  himself,  he  fixed  his  eyes  with  an  expression  of  paternal 
benevolence  on  his  companion,  and  was  silent  in  turn. 

David  looked  up,  as  we  all  do  when  a  voice  ceases,  and 
saw  this  mild  gaze  dwelling  on  him. 

"Dodd,  my  boy,  you  don't  say  a  word;  what  is  the 
matter  ?" 

"  I  am  very  bad  company,  sir,  that  is  the  truth." 

"  Well,  fill  your  glass,  then,  and  I'll  talk  for  you.  I  have 
got  something  to  say  to  you,  young  gentleman."  David 
filled  his  glass,  and  forced  himself  to  attend ;  after  a  while 
no  effort  was  needed. 

"  Dodd,"  resumed  the  mature  merchant,  "  I  need  hardly 
tell  you  that  I  have  a  particular  regard  for  you ;  the  rea- 
son is,  you  are  a  young  man  of  uncommon  merit." 

"Mr.  Bazalgette!  sir!  I  don't  know  which  way  to  look 
when  you  praise  me  like  that.  It  is  your  goodness ;  you 
overrate  me." 

"  No,  I  don't.  I  am  a  judge  of  men.  I  have  seen  thou- 
sands, and  seen  them  too  close  to  be  taken  in  by  their  out- 
side. You  are  the  only  one  of  my  wife's  friends  that  ever 
had  the  run  of  my  study :  what  do  you  think  of  that,  now ?" 

"  I  am  very  proud  of  it,  sir,  that  is  all  I  can  find  to  say." 

"Well,  young  man,  that  same  good  opinion  I  have  of  you 
induces  me  to  do  something  else,  that  I  have  never  done  for 
any  of  your  predecessors." 

Mr.  Bazalgette  paused.  David's  heart  beat.  Quick  as 
lightning  it  darted  through  his  mind,  "  He  is  going  to  ask 
a  favor  for  me.  Promotion?  Why  not?  He  is  a  mer- 
chant. He  has  friends  in  '  the  Company.' " 

"  I  am  going  to  interfere  in  your  concerns,  Dodd," 

"  You  are  very  good,  sir." 

"  Well,  perhaps  I  am.  I  have  to  overcome  a  natural  re- 
luctance. But  you  are  worth  the  struggle.  I  shall  there- 
fore go  against  the  usages  of  the  world,  which  I  don't  care 
a  button  for,  and  my  own  habits,  which  I  care  a  great  deal 
for,  and  give  you,  humph — a  piece  of  friendly  advice." 


292         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

David  looked  blank. 

"  Dodd,  my  boy,  you  are  playing  the  fool  in  this 
house." 

David  looked  blanker. 

"  It  is  not  your  fault ;  you  are  led  into  it  by  one  of  those 
sweet  creatures  that  love  to  reduce  men  to  the  level  of  their 
own  wisdom.  You  are  in  love,  or  soon  will  be." 

David  colored  all  over  like  a  girl,  and  his  face  of  distress 
was  painful  to  see. 

"  You  need  not  look  so  frightened ;  I  am  your  friend,  not 
your  enemy.  And  do  you  really  think  others  besides  me 
have  not  seen  what  is  going  on  ?  Now,  Dodd,  my  dear  fel- 
low, I  am  an  old  man,  and  you  are  a  young  one.  More- 
over, I  understand  the  lady,  and  you  don't." 

"  That  is  true,  sir ;  I  feel  I  can  not  fathom  her." 

"Poor  fellow!  Well,  but  I  have  known  her  longer 
than  you." 

"  That  is  true,  sir." 

"  And  on  closer  terms  of  intimacy." 

"No  doubt,  sir." 

"  Then  listen  to  me :  She  is  all  very  charming  outside, 
and  full  of  sensibility  outside,  but  she  has  no  more  real  feel- 
ing than  a  fish.  She  will  go  a  certain  length  with  you,  or 
with  any  agreeable  young  man,  but  she  can  always  stop 
where  it  suits  her.  No  lady  in  England  values  position 
and  luxury  more  than  she  does,  or  is  less  likely  to  sacrifice 
them  to  love,  a  passion  she  is  incapable  of.  Here,  then,  is 
a  game  at  which  you  run  all  the  risk.  No !  leave  her  to 
puppies  like  Kenealy ;  they  are  her  natural  prey.  You 
must  not  play  such  a  heart  as  yours  against  a  marble-taw. 
It  is  not  an  even  stake." 

David  groaned  audibly.  His  first  thought  was,  "Eve 
says  the  same  of  her."  His  second,  "All  the  world  is 
against  her,  poor  thing." 

"  Is  she  to  bear  the  blame  of  my  folly  ?" 

"  Why  not  ?  She  is  the  cause  of  your  folly.  It  began 
her  setting  her  cap  at  you." 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONG.  293 

"  No,  sir,  you  do  her  wrong.     She  is  modesty  itself." 

"Ta!  ta!  ta!  you  are  a  sailor,  green  as  sea-weed." 

"Mr.  Bazalgette,  as  I  am  a  gentleman,  she  never  has 
encouraged  me  to  love  her  as  I  do." 

"Your  statement,  sir,  is  one  which  becomes  a  gentleman 
— under  the  circumstances.  But  I  happen  to  have  watch- 
ed her.  It  is  a  thing  I  have  taken  the  trouble  to  do  for 
some  time  past.  It  was  my  interest  in  you  that  made  me 
curious,  and  apprehensive — on  your  account." 

"Then,  if  you  have  watched  her,  you  must  have  seen 
her  avoid  me." 

"Pooh!  pooh!  that  was  drawing  the  bait;  these  old 
stagers  can  all  do  that." 

"  Old  stagers !"  and  David  looked  as  if  blasphemy  had 
been  uttered.  Bazalgette  wore  a  grin  of  infinite  irony. 

"  Don't  be  shocked,"  said  he ;  "  of  course,  I  mean  old  in 
flirtation  ;  no  lady  is  old  in  years." 

"She  is  not,  at  all  events." 

"It  is  agreed.  There  are  legal  fictions,  and  why  not 
social  ones?" 

"  I  don't  understand  you,  sir ;  and,  in  truth,  it  is  all  a 
puzzle  to  me.  You  don't  seem  angry  with  me "?" 

"  Why,  of  course  not,  my  poor  fellow ;  I  pity  you." 

"Yet  you  discourage  me,  Mr.  Bazalgette." 

"But  not  from  any  selfish  motive.  I  want  to  spare  you 
the  mortification  that  is  in  store  for  you.  Remember,  I 
have  seen  the  end  of  about  a  dozen  of  you." 

"  Good  heavens !     And  what  is  the  end  of  us  ?" 

"  The  cold  shoulder  without  a  day's  warning,  and  anoth- 
er fool  set  in  your  place,  and  the  house-door  slammed  in 
your  face,  etc.,  etc.  Oh !  with  her  there  is  but  one  step 
from  flirtation  to  detestation.  Not  one  of  her  flames  is  her 
friend  at  this  moment." 

David  hung  his  head,  and  his  heart  turned  sick;  there 
was  a  silence  of  some  seconds,  during  which  Bazalgette 
eyed  him  keenly.  "  Sir,"  said  David,  at  last,  "your  words 
go  through  me  like  a  knife." 


294         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"Never  mind.  It  is  a  friendly  surgeon's  knife,  not  an 
assassin's." 

"  Yet  you  say  it  is  only  out  of  regard  for  me  you  warn 
me  so  against  her." 

"  I  repeat  it." 

"  Then,  sir,  if,  by  Heaven's  mercy,  you  should  be  mis- 
taken in  her  character — if,  little  as  I  deserve  it,  I  should 
succeed  in  winning  her  regard,  I  might  reckon  on  your  per- 
mission— on  your  kind — support  T' 

"  Hardly,"  said  Mr.  Bazalgette,  hastily.  He  then  stared 
at  the  honest  earnest  face  that  was  turned  toward  him. 
"Well,"  said  he,  "you  modest  gentlemen  have  a  marvelous 
fund  of  assurance  at  bottom.  No,  sir ;  with  the  exception 
of  this  piece  of  friendly  advice  I  shall  be  strictly  neutral. 
In  return  for  it,  if  you  should  succeed,  be  so  good  as  to  take 
her  out  of  the  house,  that  is  the  only  stipulation  I  venture 
to  propose." 

"  I  should  be  sure  to  do  that,"  cried  David,  lifting  his 
eyes  to  heaven  with  rapture ;  "  but  I  shall  not  have  the 
chance." 

"So  I  keep  telling  you.  You  might  as  well  hope  to 
tempt  a  statue  of  the  Goddess  Flirtation.  She  infinitely 
prefers  wealth  and  vanity  to  any  thing,  even  to  vice." 

"  Vice,  sir !  is  that  a  term  for  us  to  apply  to  a  lady  like 
her,  whom  we  are  all  unworthy  to  approach  ?"  and  David 
turned  very  red. 

"Well,  you  need  not  quarrel  with  me  about  her,  as  / 
don't  with  you" 

"  Quarrel  with  you,  dear  sir.  I  hope  I  feel  your  kind- 
ness, and  know  my  duty  better;  but,  sir,  I  am  agitated, 
and  my  heart  is  troubled ;  and  surely  you  go  beyond  rea- 
son. She  is  not  old  enough  to  have  had  so  many  lovers." 

"  Humph !  she  has  made  good  use  of  her  time." 

"Even  could  I  believe  that  she,  who  seems  to  me  an  an- 
gel, is  a  coquette,  still  she  can  not  be  hard  and  heartless  as 
you  describe  her.  It  is  impossible ;  it  does  not  belong  to 
her  years." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  295 

"You  keep  harping  on  her  age,  Dodd.     Do  you  know 
her  age  ?  if  you  do,  you  have  the  advantage  of  me.    I  have 
not  seen  her  baptismal  register.     Have  you  ?" 
"  No,  sir,  but  I  know  what  she  says  is  her  age." 
"  That  is  only  evidence  of  what  is  not  her  age." 
"  But  there  is  her  face,  sir ;  that  is  evidence." 
"  You  have  never  seen  her  face ;  it  is  always  got  up  to 
deceive  the  public." 

"  I  have  seen  it  at  the  dawn,  before  any  of  you  were  up." 
"  What  is  that  1     Hallo !  the  deuce — where  ?" 
"  In  the  garden." 

"In  the  garden?  Oh,  she  does  not  jump  off  her  down- 
bed  on  to  a  flower-bed.  She  had  been  an  hour  at  work  on 
that  face  before  ever  the  sun  or  you  got  leave  to  look 
on  it." 

"I'll  stake  my  head  I  tell  her  age  within  a  year,  Mr. 
Bazalgette." 

"  No,  you  will  not,  nor  within  ten  years." 
"  That  is  soon  seen.     I  call  her  one-and-twenty." 
"  One-and-twenty !     You  are  mad !     Why,  she  has  had 
a  child  that  would  be  fifteen  now  if  it  had  lived." 

"Miss  Lucy?  A  child?  Fifteen  years?  What  on 
earth  do  you  mean  ?" 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  What  has  Miss  Lucy  to  do  with 
it  ?  You  know  very  well  it  is  MY  WIFE  I  am  warning 
you  against,  not  that  innocent  girl." 

At  this  David  burst  out  in  his  turn.  "  YOUK  WIFE ! 
and  have  you  so  vile  an  opinion  of  me  as  to  think  I  would 
Sat  your  bread  and  tempt  your  wife  under  your  roof?  Oh, 
Mr.  Bazalgette,  is  this  the  esteem  you  profess  for  me?" 

"  Go  to  the  devil !"  shouted  Bazalgette,  in  double  ire  at 
his  own  blunder  and  at  being  taken  to  task  by  his  own 
Telemachus  ;  he  added,  but  in  a  very  different  tone,  "  You 
are  too  good  for  this  world." 

The  best  things  we  say  miss  fire  in  conversation ;  only 
second-rate  shots  hit  the  mind  through  the  ear.  This,  we 
will  suppose,  is  why  David  derived  no  amusement  or  de- 


29G  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

lectation  from  Mr.  Bazalgette's  inadvertent  but  admirable 
Ion  mot. 

"  Go  to  the  devil !  you  are  too  good  for  this  world." 

He  merely  rose,  and  said  gravely,  "  Heaven  forgive  you 
your  unjust  suspicions,  and  God  bless  you  for  your  other 
kindness:  good-by !" 

"  Why,  where  on  earth  are  you  going  ?" 

"  To  stow  away  my  things ;  to  pack  up,  as  they  call  it." 

"  Come  back !  come  back !  why,  what  a  terrible  fellow 
you  are;  you  make  no  allowance  for  metaphors.  There, 
forgive  me,  and  shake  hands.  Now  sit  down.  I  esteem 
you  more  than  ever.  You  have  come  down  from  another 
age,  and  a  much  better  one  than  this.  Now  let  us  be  calm, 
quiet,  sensible,  tranquil.  Hallo!"  (starting  up  in  agita- 
tion), "a  sudden  light  bursts  on  me.  You  are  in  love, 
and  not  with  my  wife ;  then  it  is  with  my  ward." 

"  It  is  too  late  to  deny  it,  sir." 

"That  is  far  more  serious  than  the  other,"  said  Bazal- 
gette,  very  gravely ;  "  the  old  one  would  have  been  sure  to 
cure  you  of  your  fancy  for  her,  soon  or  late,  but  Lucy ! 
Now  just  look  at  that  young  buffer's  eyes  glaring  at  us  like 
a  pair  of  saucers." 

"  I  am  not  listening,  papa ;  I  haven't  heard  a  word  you 
and  Mr.  Dodd  have  said  about  naughty  ladies.  I  have  been 
such  a  good  boy,  minding  my  puzzle." 

"I  wish  he  may  not  have  been  minding  ours  instead," 
muttered  liis  sire,  and  rang  the  bell,  and  ordered  the  serv- 
ant to  take  away  Master  Reginald  and  bring  coffee. 

The  pair  sipped  their  coffee  in  dead  silence.  It  was 
broken  at  last  by  David  saying  sadly  and  a  little  bitterly, 
"  I  fear,  sir,  your  good  opinion  of  me  does  not  go  the  length 
of  letting  me  come  into  your  family." 

The  merchant  seemed  during  the  last  five  minutes  to 
have  undergone  some  starching  process,  so  changed  was  his 
whole  manner  now ;  so  distant,  dignified,  and  stiff.  "  Mr. 
Dodd,"  said  he,  "I  am  in  a  difficult  position.  Insincerity 
is  no  part  of  my  character.  When  I  say  I  have  a  regard 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         297 

for  a  man,  I  mean  it.  But  I  am  the  young  lady's  guard- 
ian, sir :  she  is  a  minor,  though  on  the  verge  of  her  major- 
ity, and  I  can  not  advise  her  to  a  match  which,  in  the  re- 
ceived sense,  would  be  a  very  bad  one  for  her.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  so  many  insuperable  obstacles  be- 
tween you  and  her,  that  I  need  not  combat  my  personal 
sentiments  so  far  as  to  act  against  you ;  it  would,  indeed, 
hardly  be  just,  as  I  have  surprised  your  secret  unfairly, 
though  with  no  unfair  intention.  My  promise  not  to  act 
hostilely  implies  that  I  shall  not  reveal  this  conversation  to 
Mrs.  Bazalgette ;  if  I  did  I  should  lanch  the  deadliest  of 
all  enemies — irritated  vanity — upon  you,  for  she  certainly 
looks  on  you  as  her  plaything,  not  her  niece's ;  and  you 
would  instantly  be  the  victim  of  her  spite,  and  of  her  influ- 
ence over  Lucy,  if  she  discovered  you  have  the  insolence  to 
escape  her,  and  pursue  another  of  her  sex.  I  shall  there- 
fore keep  silence  and  neutrality.  Meantime,  in  the  charac- 
ter, not  of  her  guardian,  but  of  your  friend,  I  do  strongly 
advise  you  not  to  think  seriously  of  her.  She  will  never 
marry  you.  She  is  a  good,  kind,  amiable  creature,  but  still 
she  is  a  girl  of  the  world — has  all  its  lessons  at  her  finger 
ends.  Bless  your  heart,  these  meek  beauties  are  as  ambi- 
tious as  Lucifer,  and  this  one's  ambition  is  fed  by  constant 
admiration,  by  daily  matrimonial  discussions  with  the  old 
stager,  and  I  believe  by  a  good  offer  every  now  and  then, 
which  she  refuses,  because  she  is  waiting  for  a  better. 
Come,  now,  it  only  wants  one  good  wrench — " 

David  interrupted  him  mildly :  "  Then,  sir,"  said  he, 
thoughtfully,  "the  upshot  is,  that  if  she  says  'Yes,'  you 
won't  say  '  No.' " 

The  mature  merchant  stared. 

"  If,"  said  he,  and  with  this  short  sentence  and  a  sardon- 
ic grin  he  broke  off  trying 

"To  fetter  flame  with  flaxen  band." 

So  nothing  more  was  said  or  done  that  evening  worth  re- 
cording. 

The  next  day,  being  the  day  of  the  masquerade,  was  de- 
N2 


298  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

voted  by  the  ladies  to  the  making,  altering,  and  trying  on 
of  dresses  in  their  bedrooms.  This  turned  the  down-stairs 
rooms  so  dark  and  unlovely  that  the  gentlemen  deserted  the 
house  one  after  the  other.  Kenealy  and  Talboys  rode  to 
see  a  cricket-match  ten  miles  off.  Hardie  drove  into  the 

town  of ,  and  David  paced  the  gi-avel-walk,  in  hopes 

that  by  keeping  near  the  house  he  might  find  Lucy  alone, 
for  he  was  determined  to  know  his  fate  and  end  his  intol- 
erable suspense. 

He  had  paced  the  walk  about  an  hour  when  fortune 
seemed  to  favor  his  desires.  Lucy  came  out  into  the  gar- 
den. David's  heart  beat  violently.  To  his  great  annoy- 
ance, Mr.  Fountain  followed  her  out  of  the  house  and  called 
her.  She  stopped,  and  he  joined  her ;  and  very  soon  uncle 
and  niece  were  engaged  in  a  conversation  which  seemed  so 
earnest  that  David  withdrew  to  another  part  of  the  garden 
not  to  interfere  with  them. 

He  waited,  and  waited,  and  waited  till  they  should  sep- 
arate ;  but  no,  they  walked  more  and  more  slowly,  and  the 
conversation  seemed  to  deepen  in  interest.  David  chafed. 
If  he  had  known  the  nature  of  that  conversation  he  would 
have  writhed  with  torture  as  well  as  fretted  with  impa- 
tience, for  there  the  hand  of  her  he  loved  was  sought  in 
marriage  before  his  eyes,  and  within  a  few  steps  of  him. 
On  such  threads  hangs  human  life.  Had  he  been  at  the 
hall  door  instead  of  in  the  garden,  he  might  have  antici- 
pated Mr.  Fountain.  As  it  was,  Mr.  Fountain  stole  the 
march  on  him. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

TO-MORROW  Lucy  had  agreed  to  sail,  and  in  the  boat 
Mr.  Talboys  was  to  ask  and  win  her  hand.  But  from  the 
first  Mr.  Fountain  had  never  a  childlike  confidence  in  the 
scheme,  and  his  understanding  kept  rebelling  more  and 
more. 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  299 

"The  man  that  means  to  pop,  pops,"  said  he;  "one 
needn't  go  to  sea — to  pop.  Terra  firma  is  poppable  on,  if 
it  is  nothing  else.  These  young  fellows  are  like  novices 
with  a  gun ;  the  bird  must  be  in  a  position,  or  they  can't 
shoot  it — with  their  pop-guns.  The  young  sparks  in  my 
day  could  pop  them  down  flying.  We  popped  out  walking, 
popped  out  riding,  popped  dancing,  popped  psalm-singing. 
Talboys  could  not  pop  on  horseback,  because  the  lady's 
pony  fidgeted,  not  his.  Well,  it  will  be  so  to-morrow.  The 
boat  will  misbehave,  or  the  wind  will  be  easterly,  and  I 
shall  be  told  southerly  is  the  popping  wind.  The  truth  is, 
he  is  faint-hearted.  His  sires  conquered  England,  and  he 
is  afraid  of  a  young  girl.  I'll  end  this  nonsense.  He  shall 
pop  by  proxy." 

In  pursuance  of  this  resolve,  seeing  his  niece  pass  through 
the  hall  with  her  garden-hat  on,  he  called  to  her  that  he 
would  get  his  hat  and  join  her.  They  took  one  turn  to- 
gether almost  in  silence.  Fountain  was  thinking  how  he 
should  best  open  the  subject,  and  Lucy  waiting  after  her 
own  fashion,  for  she  saw  by  the  old  man's  manner  he  had 
something  to  say  to  her. 

"  Lucy,  my  dear,  I  leave  you  in  a  day  or  two." 

"So  soon,  uncle?" 

"And  it  depends  on  you  whether  I  am  to  go  away  a 
happy  or  a  disappointed  old  man." 

At  these  words,  to  which  she  was  too  cautious  to  reply 
in  words,  Lucy  wore  a  puzzled  air ;  but  underneath  it  a 
keen  observer  might  have  noticed  her  cheek  pale  a  little,  a 
very  little,  and  a  quiver  of  suppressed  agitation  pass  over 
her  like  a  current  of  air  in  summer  over  a  smooth  lake. 

Receiving  no  answer,  Mr.  Fountain  went  on  to  remind 
her  that  he  was  her  only  kinsman,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  being 
her  relation  by  half-blood  only ;  and  told  her  that,  looking 
on  himself  as  her  father,  he  had  always  been  anxious  to  see 
her  position  in  life  secured  before  his  own  death. 

"  I  have  been  ambitious  for  you,  my  dear,"  said  he,  "  but 
not  more  so  than  your  beauty  and  accomplishments,  and 


300  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,    LOVE   ME   LONG. 

your  family  name  entitle  us  to  be.  Well,  my  ambition  for 
you  and  my  affection  for  you  are  both  about  to  be  gratified ; 
at  least,  it  now  rests  with  you  to  gratify  them.  Will  you 
be  Mrs.  Talboys  ?" 

Lucy  looked  down,  and  said  demurely,  "  What  a  ques- 
tion for  a  third  person  to  put !" 

"  Should  I  put  it  if  I  had  not  a  right?" 

"I  don't  know." 

"  You  ought  to  know,  Lucy." 

"Mr.  Talboys  has  authorized  you,  dear?" 

"He  has." 

"  Then  this  is  a  formal  proposal  from  Mr.  Talboys  ?" 

"  Of  course  it  is,"  said  the  old  gentleman,  fearlessly,  for 
Lucy's  manner  of  putting  these  questions  was  colorless ; 
nobody  would  have  guessed  what  she  was  at. 

She  now  threw  her  arm  round  her  uncle's  neck,  and 
kissed  him,  which  made  him  exult  prematurely. 

"Then,  dear  uncle,"  said  she,  lovingly,  "you  must  tell 
Mr.  Talboys  that  I  thank  him  for  the  honor  he  does  me, 
and  that  I  decline." 

"Accept,  you  mean." 

"No  I  don't— ha!  ha!" 

Her  laugh  died  rapidly  away  at  sight  of  the  effect  of  her 
words.  Mr.  Fountain  started,  and  his  face  turned  red  and 
pale  alternately. 

"Refuse  my  friend  —  refuse  Talboys  in  that  way? 
Thoughtless  girl,  you  don't  know  what  you  are  doing. 
His  family  is  all  but  noble.  What  am  I  saying?  noble? 
why  half  the  House  of  Peers  is  sprung  from  the  dregs  of 
the  people,  and  got  there  either  by  pettifogging  in  the  courts 
of  law,  or  selling  consciences  in  the  Lower  House ;  and  of 
the  other  half,  that  are  gentlemen  of  descent,  not  two  in 
twenty  can  show  a  pedigree  like  Talboys.  And  with  that 
name  a  princely  mansion — antiquity  stamped  on  it — stands 
in  its  own  park,  in  the  middle  of  its  vast  estates,  with  title- 
deeds  in  black  letter,  girl." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         301 

"But,  uncle,  all  this  is  encumbered — " 

"  It  is  false,  whoever  told  you  so.  There  is  not  a  mort- 
gage on  any  part  of  it  —  only  a  few  trifling  copyholds  and 
pepper-corn  rents." 

"  You  misunderstand  me ;  I  was  going  to  say,  it  is  en- 
cumbered with  a  gentleman  for  whom  I  could  never  feel 
affection,  because  he  does  not  inspire  me  with  respect." 

"Nonsense  !  he  inspires  universal  respect." 

"  It  must  be  by  his  estates,  then,  not  his  character.  You 
know,  uncle,  the  world  is  more  apt  to  ask,  '  What  has  he, 
than  what  is  he  T  " 

"  He  is  a  polished  gentleman." 

"  But  not  a  well-bred  one." 

"  The  best  bred  I  ever  saw." 

"  Then  you  never  looked  in  a  glass,  dear.  No,  dear  un- 
cle, I  will  tell  you.  Mr.  Talboys  has  seen  the  world,  has 
kept  good  society,  is  at  his  ease  (a  great  point),  and  is  per- 
fect in  externals.  But  his  good  manners  are — what  shall 
I  say?  coat  deep.  His  politeness  is  not  proof  against 
temptation,  however  petty.  The  reason  is,  it  is  only  a 
spurious  politeness.  Keal  politeness  is  founded  and  built 
on  the  golden  rule,  however  delicate  and  artificial  its  super- 
structure may  be.  But,  leaving  out  of  the  question  the 
politeness  of  the  heart,  he  has  not  in  any  sense  the  true  art 
of  good-breeding ;  he  has  only  the  common  traditions.  Put 
him  in  a  novel  situation,  with  no  rules  and.  examples  to 
guide  him,  he  would  be  maladroit  as  a  school-boy.  He  is 
just  the  counterpart  of  Mr.  Dodd  in  that  respect.  Poor 
Mr.  Dodd  is  always  shocking  one  by  violating  the  common- 
est rules  of  society ;  but  every  now  and  then  he  bursts  out 
with  a  flash  of  natural  courtesy  so  brignt,  so  refined,  so 
original,  yet  so  worthy  of  imitation,  that  you  say  to  your- 
self this  is  genius — the  genius  of  good-breeding." 

Mr.  Fountain  chafed  with  impatience  during  this  tirade, 
in  which  he  justly  suspected  an  attempt  to  fritter  away  a 
serious  discussion. 
.    "  Come  off  your  hobby,  Lucy,"  cried  he,  "  and  speak  to 


302         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

me  like  a  woman  and  like  my  niece.  If  this  is  your  ob- 
jection, overcome  it  for  my  sake." 

"  I  would,  dear,"  said  Lucy,  "  but  it  is  only  one  of  my 
objections,  and  by  no  means  the  most  serious." 

On  being  invited  to  come  at  once  to  the  latter,  Lucy  hes- 
itated. "  Would  not  that  be  unamiable  on  my  part  ?  Mr. 
Talboys  has  just  paid  me  the  highest  compliment  a  gentle- 
man can  pay  a  lady ;  it  is  for  me  to  decline  him  courteous- 
ly, not  abuse  him  to  his  friend  and  representative." 

"  No  humbug,  Lucy,  if  you  please :  I  am  in  no  humor 
for  it." 

"We  should  all  be  savages  without  a  little  of  it." 

"  I  am  waiting." 

"  Then  pledge  me  your  word  of  honor  no  word  of  what 
I  now  say  to  the  disadvantage  of  poor  Mr.  Talboys  shall 
ever  reach  him." 

"  You  may  take  your  oath  of  that." 

"Then  he  is  a  detractor,  a  character  I  despise." 

"Who  does  he  detract  from?     I  never  heard  him." 

"From  all  his  superiors — in  other  words,  from  every 
body  he  meets.  Did  you  ever  know  him  fail  to  sneer  at 
Mr.  Hardier 

"  Oh !  that  is  the  offense,  is  it?" 

"  No,  it  is  the  same  with  others :  there,  the  other  day, 
Mr.  Dodd  joined  us  on  horseback.  He  did  not  dress  for  the 
occasion.  He  had  no  straps  on.  He  came  in  a  hurry  to 
have  our  society,  not  to  cut  a  dash.  But  there  was  Mr. 
Talboys,  who  can  only  do  this  one  thing  well,  and  who, 
thanks  to  his  servant,  had  straps  on,  sneering  the  whole 
time  at  Mr.  Dodd,  who  has  mastered  a  dozen  far  more  dif- 
ficult and  more  honorable  accomplishments  than  putting  on 
straps  and  sitting  on  horses.  But  he  is  always  backbiting 
and  sneering :  he  admires  nothing  and  nobody." 

"  He  has  admired  you  ever  since  he  saw  you." 

"  What !  has  he  never  sneered  at  me "?" 

"  Never !  ungrateful  girl,  never." 

"  How  humiliating !    He  takes  me  for  his  inferior.    His 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  303 

superiors  he  always  sneers  at.  If  he  had  seen  any  thing 
good  or  spirited  in  me,  he  could  not  have  helped  detracting 
from  me.  Is  not  this  a  serious  reason  ?  that  I  despise  the 
person  who  now  solicits  my  love,  honor,  and  obedience? 
Well,  then,  there  is  another — a  stronger  still.  But  per- 
haps you  will  call  it  a  woman's  reason." 

"  I  know.  You  don't  like  him — that  is,  you  fancy  you 
don't,  and  can't." 

"  No,  uncle,  it  is  not  that  I  don't  like  him.  It  is  that  I 
HATE  HIM." 

"  You  hate  him  ?"  and  Mr.  Fountain  looked  at  her  to  see 
if  it  was  his  niece  Lucy  who  was  uttering  words  so  entirely 
out  of  character. 

"I  am  but  a  poor  hater.  I  have  but  little  practice; 
but,  with  all  the  power  of  hating  I  do  possess,  I  hate  that 
Mr.  Talboys.  Oh,  how  delicious  it  is  to  speak  one's  mind 
out  nice  and  rudely.  It  is  a  luxury  I  seldom  indulge  in. 
Yes,  uncle,"  said  Lucy,  clenching  her  white  teeth,  "  I  hate 
that  man,  and  I  did  hope  his  proposal  would  have  come 
from  himself;  then  there  would  have  been  nothing  to  alloy 
my  quiet  satisfaction  at  mortifying  one  who  is  so  ready  to 
mortify  others.  But  no,  he  has  bewitched  you ;  and  you 
take  his  part,  and  you  look  vexed ;  so  all  my  pleasure  is 
turned  to  pain." 

"  It  is  all  self-deception,"  gasped  Fountain,  in  considera- 
ble agitation ;  "  you  girls  are  always  deceiving  yourselves : 
you  none  of  you  hate  any  man — unless  you  love  him.  He 
tells  me  you  have  encouraged  him  of  late.  You  had  better 
tell  me  that  is  a  lie." 

"  A  lie,  uncle ;  what  an  expression !  Mr.  Talboys  is  a 
gentleman :  he  would  not  tell  a  falsehood,  I  presume." 

"  Aha !  it  is  true,  then,  you  have  encouraged  him  ?" 

"  A  little." 

"  There,  you  see ;  the  moment  we  come  from  generalities 
to  facts,  what  a  simpleton  you  are  proved  to  be.  Come, 
now,  did  you  or  did  you  not  agree  to  go  in  a  boat  with 
him  1" 


304  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

« I  did,  dear." 

"  That  was  a  pretty  strong  measure,  Lucy." 

"  Very  strong,  I  think.     I  can  tell  you  I  hesitated." 

"Now  you  see  how  you  have  mistaken  your  own  feel- 
ings." 

Lucy  hung  her  head.  "  Oh,  uncle,  you  call  me  simple — 
and  look  at  you!  fancy  not  seeing  why  I  agreed  to  go — 
'  dans  cette  galere.'  It  was  that  Mr.  Talboys  might  declai-e 
himself,  and  so  I  might  get  rid  of  him  forever.  I  saw  that 
if  I  could  not  bring  him  to  the  point,  he  would  dangle 
about  me  for  years,  and  perhaps,  at  last,  succeed  in  irritat- 
ing me  to  rudeness.  But  now,  of  course,  I  shall  stay  on 
shore  with  my  uncle  to-morrow.  '  Qtfirais  je  faire  dans 
cette  galcre  f  you  have  done  it  all  for  me.  Oh,  my  dear, 
dear  uncle,  I  am  so  grateful  to  you !" 

She  showed  symptoms  of  caressing  Mr.  Fountain,  but  he 
recoiled  from  her  angrily.  "Viper!  but  no,  this  is  not 
you.  There  is  a  deeper  hand  than  you  in  all  this.  This 
is  that  Mrs.  Bazalgette's  doing." 

"No,  indeed,  uncle." 

"  Give  me  a  proof  it  is  not." 

"With  pleasure;  any  proof  that  is  in  my  power." 

"  Then  promise  me  not  to  marry  Mr.  Hardie." 

"  My  dear  uncle,  Mr.  Hardie  has  never  asked  me." 

"  But  he  will." 

"  What  right  have  I  to  say  so  ?  What  right  have  I  to 
constitute  Mr.  Hardie  my  admirer?  I  would  not  for  all 
the  world  put  it  into  any  gentleman's  power  to  say,  '  Why 
say  "  no,"  Miss  Fountain,  before  I  have  asked  you  to  say 
"yes?"'  Oh!" 

And  with  this,  Lucy  put  her  face  into  her  hands,  but 
they  were  not  large  enough  to  hide  the  deep  blush  that  suf- 
fused her  whole  face  at  the  bare  idea  of  being  betrayed  into 
an  indelicacy  of  this  sort. 

"How  could  he  say  that?  how  could  he  know?"  said 
Mr.  Fountain,  pettishly. 

"Uncle,  I  can  not,  I  dare  not.     You  and  my  aunt  hate 


LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  305 

one  another ;  so  you  might  be  tempted  to  tell  her,  and  she 
would  be  sure  to  tell  him.  Besides,  I  can  not ;  my  very 
instinct  revolts  from  it.  It  would  not  be  modest.  I  love 
you,  uncle.  Let  me  know  your  wishes,  and  have  some 
faith  in  my  affection,  but  pray  do  not  press  me  farther. 
Oh,  what  have  I  done,  to  be  spoken  of  with  so  many  gen- 
tlemen !" 

Lucy  was  in  evident  agitation,  and  the  blushes  glowed 
more  and  more  round  her  snowy  hands  and  between  her 
delicate  fingers ;  and  there  is  something  so  sacred  about  the 
modesty  alarmed  of  an  intelligent  young  woman — it  is  a 
feeling  which,  however  fantastical,  is  so  genuine  in  her,  and 
so  manifestly  intense  beyond  all  we  can  ourselves  feel  of  the 
kind,  that  no  man  who  is  not  utterly  stupid  or  depraved  can 
see  it  without  a  certain  awe.  Even  Mr.  Fountain,  who 
looked  on  Lucy's  distress  as  transcendent  folly  with  a  dash 
of  hypocrisy,  could  not  go  on  making  her  cheek  burn  so. 
"  There  !  there !"  cried  he,  "  don't  torment  yourself,  Lucy. 
I  will  spare  your  fanciful  delicacy,  though  you  have  no  pity 
on  me — on  your  poor  old  uncle,  whose  heart  you  will  break 
if  you  decline  this  match." 

At  these  words,  and  the  old  man's  change  from  anger  to 
sadness,  Lucy  looked  up  in  dismay,  and  the  vivid  color  died, 
like  a  retiring  wave,  out  of  her  cheek." 

"You  look  surprised,  Lucy.  What!  do  you  think  this 
will  not  be  a  heart-breaking  disappointment  to  me  ?  If  you 
knew  how  I  have  schemed  for  it — what  I  have  done  and 
endured  to  bring  it  about!  To  quarter  the  arms  of  Fon- 
taine and  Talboys!  I  put  by  the  £5000  directly,  and  as 
much  more  of  my  own,  that  you  should  not-  go  into  that 
noble  family  without  a  proper  settlement.  It  was  the 
dream  of  my  heart :  I  could  have  died  contented  the  next 
hour.  More  fool  I  to  care  for  any  body  but  myself.  Your 
selfish  people  escape  these  bitter  disappointments.  Well, 
it  is  a  lesson.  From  this  hour  I  will  live  for  myself  and 
care  for  nobody,  for  nobody  cares  for  me." 

These  words,  uttered  with  great  agitation,  and,  I  believe, 


306  LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

with  perfect  sincerity,  on  his  own  unselfishness  and  hard 
fate,  were  terrible  to  Lucy.  She  wreathed  her  arms  sud- 
denly round  him. 

"  Oh,  uncle,"  she  cried,  despairingly,  "kill  me!  send  me 
to  heaven !  send  me  to  my  mother,  but  don't  stab  me  with 
such  bitter  words;"  and  she  trembled  with  an  emotion  so 
much  more  powerful  and  convulsing  than  his,  in  which 
temper  had  a  large  share,  that  she  once  more  cowed  him. 

"  There !  there !"  he  muttered,  "  I  don't  want  to  kill  you, 
child,  God  knows,  or  to  hurt  you  in  any  way." 

Lucy  trembled,  and  tried  to  smile.  The  good-nature, 
which  was  the  upper  crust  of  this  man's  character,  got  the 
better  of  him. 

"  There !  there !  don't  distress  yourself  so.  I  know  who 
I  have  to  thank  for  all  this." 

"  She  has  not  the  power,"  said  Lucy,  in  a  faint  voice, 
"to  make  me  ungrateful  to  you." 

Mind  is  more  rapid  than  lightning.  At  this  moment,  in 
the  middle  of  a  sentence,  it  flashed  across  Lucy  that  her 
aunt  had  convinced  her,  sore  against  her  will,  that  there 
was  a  strong  element  of  selfishness  in  Mr.  Fountain.  "But 
it  is  that  he  deceives  himself,"  thought  Lucy :  "  he  would 
sacrifice  my  happiness  to  his  hobby,  and  think  he  had  done 
it  for  love  of  me."  Enlightened  by  this  rapid  reflection, 
she  did  not  say  to  him  as  one  of  her  own  sex  would,  "  Look 
in  your  own  heart,  and  you  will  see  that  all  this  is  not  love 
of  me,  but  of  your  own  schemes."  Oh  dear,  no,  that  would 
not  have  been  the  woman.  She  took  him  round  the  neck, 
and,  fixing  her  sapphire  eyes  lovingly  on  his,  she  said,  "It 
is  for  love  of  me  you  set  your  heart  on  this  great  match  ? 
You  wish  to  see  me  well  settled  in  the  world,  and,  above 
all,  happy  ?" 

"  Of  course  it  is.  I  told  you  so.  What  other  object  can 
I  have?" 

"  Then,  if  you  saw  me  wretched,  and  degraded  in  my  own 
eyes,  your  heart  would  bleed  for  your  poor  niece — too  late. 
Well,  uncle,  I  love  you  too,  and  I  save  you  this  day  from 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE    ME   LONGK  307 

remorse.  Oh,  think  what  it  must  be  to  hate  and  despise  a 
man,  and  link  yourself  body  and  soul  to  that  man  for  life. 
Oh,  think  and  shudder  with  me.  I  have  a  quick  eye.  I 
have  seen  your  lip  curl  with  contempt  when  that  fool  has 
been  talking — ah !  you  blush.  You  are  too  much  his  su- 
perior in  every  thing  but  fortune  not  to  despise  him  at 
heart.  See  the  thing  as  it  is.  Speak  to  me  as  you  would 
if  my  mother  stood  here  beside  us,  uncle,  and  to  speak 
to  me,  you  must  look  her  in  the  face.  Could  you  say 
to  me  before  her,  '  I  love  you :  marry  a  man  we  both  de- 
spise !  ?'  " 

Mr.  Fountain  made  no  answer.  He  was  disconcerted. 
Nothing  is  so  easy  to  resist  as  logic  solo:  we  see  it,  as  a 
general  rule,  resisted  with  great  success  in  public  and  pri- 
vate every  day ;  but  when  it  comes  in  good  company,  a 
voice  of  music,  an  angel  face,  gentle,  persuasive  caresses, 
and  imploring  eyes,  it  ceases  to  revolt  the  understanding. 
And  so,  caught  in  his  own  trap,  foiled,  baffled,  soothed,  ca- 
ressed, all  in  one  breath,  Mr.  Fountain  hung  his  head,  and 
could  not  immediately  reply. 

Lucy  followed  up  her  advantage.  "No,"  cried  she; 
"  say  to  me,  '  I  love  you,  Lucy ;  marry  nobody ;  stay  with 
your  uncle,  and  find  your  happiness  in  contributing  to  his 
comfort.'  " 

"What  is  the  use  my  saying  that,  when  I  have  got 
Mother  Bazalgette  against  me,  and  her  shop-keeper  ?" 

"  Never  mind,  uncle,  you  say  it,  and  time  will  show 
whether  your  influence  is  small  with  me,  and  my  affection 
small  for  you ;"  and  she  looked  in  his  face  with  glistening 
eyes. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  he,  "  I  do  say  it,  and  I  suppose  that 
means  I  must  urge  you  no  more  about  poor  Talboys." 

A  shower  of  kisses  descended  on  him  that  moment. 
Moral :  Lose  no  time  in  sealing  a  good  bargain. 

"  Come,  now,  Lucy,  you  must  do  me  a  favor." 

"  Oh,  thank  you !  thank  you !  what  is  it  1" 

"  Ay !  but  it  is  about  Talboys  too." 


308         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"Never  mind,"  faltered  Lucy,  "if  it  is  any  thing  short 
of—"  (full  stop). 

"  It  is  a  long  way  short  of  that.  Look  here,  Lucy,  I 
must  tell  you  the  truth.  He  intends  to  ask  your  hand 
himself:  he  confided  this  to  me,  but  he  never  authorized 
me  to  commit  him  as  I  have  done,  so  that  this  conversa- 
tion can  not  be  acted  on :  it  must  be  a  secret  between  you 
and  me." 

"Oh  dear!  and  I  thought  I  had  got  rid  of  him  so 
nicely." 

"  Don't  be  alarmed,"  groaned  Fountain  ;  "  such  matches 
as  this  can  always  be  dropped;  the  difficulty  is  to  bring 
them  on.  All  I  ask  of  you,  then,  is  not  to  make  mischief 
between  me  and  my  friend,  the  proudest  man  in  England. 
If  you  don't  value  his  friendship,  I  do.  You  must  not  let 
him  know  I  have  got  him  insulted  by  a  refusal.  For  in- 
stance, you  had  better  go  out  sailing  with  him  to-morrow 
as  if  nothing  had  passed.  Will  your  affection  for  me  carry 
you  as  far  as  that  ?" 

The  proposal  was  wormwood  to  Lucy.  So  she  smiled 
and  said  eagerly,  "Is  that  all?  Why,  I  will  do  it  with 
pleasure,  dear.  It  is  not  like  being  in  the  same  boat  with 
him  for  life,  you  know.  Can  you  give  me  nothing  more 
than  that  to  do  for  you  1" 

"  No ;  it  does  not  do  to  test  people's  affection  too  severe- 
ly. You  have  shown  me  that.  Go  on  with  your  walk, 
Lucy.  I  shall  go  in." 

"  May  I  not  come  with  you  ?" 

"No;  my  head  aches  with  all  this;  if  I  don't  mind  I 
shall  eat  no  dinner.  Agitation  and  vexation  don't  agree 
with  me.  I  have  carefully  avoided  them  all  my  life.  I 
must  go  in  and  lie  down  for  an  hour;"  and  he  left  her 
rather  abruptly. 

She  looked  after  him ;  her  subtle  eye  noticed  directly  that 
he  walked  a  little  more  feebly  than  usual.  She  ascribed 
this  to  his  disappointment,  justly  perhaps,  for  at  his  ago 
the  body  has  less  elastic  force  to  resist  a  mental  blow.  The 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  309 

sight  of  him  creeping  away  disappointed,  and  leaning  heav- 
ier than  usual  on  his  stick,  knocked  at  her  cool  but  affec- 
tionate heart.  She  began  to  cry  bitterly.  When  he  was 
quite  out  of  sight  she  turned  and  paced  the  gravel  slowly 
and  sadly.  It  was  new  to  her  to  refuse  her  uncle  any 
thing,  still  more  strange  to  have  to  refuse  him  a  serious 
wish.  She  was  prepared — thoroughly  prepared  for  the 
proposal,  but  not  to  find  the  old  man's  heart  so  deeply  set 
upon  it.  A  wild  impulse  came  over  her  to  call  him  back 
and  sacrifice  herself;  but  the  high  spirit  and  intelligence 
that  lay  beneath  her  tenderness  and  complaisance  stood 
firm.  Yet  she  felt  almost  guilty,  and  veiy,  very  unhappy, 
as  we  call  it  at  her  age.  She  kept  sighing,  "  Poor  uncle !" 
and  paced  the  gravel  very  slowly,  hanging  her  sweet  head, 
and  crying  as  she  went. 

At  the  end  of  the  walk  David  Dodd  stood  suddenly  be- 
fore her.  He  came  flurried  on  his  own  account,  but  stop- 
ped thunderstruck  at  her  tears.  "What  is  the  matter, 
Miss  Lucy?"  said  he,  anxiously. 

"  Oh,  nothing,  Mr.  Dodd ;"  and  they  flowed  afresh. 

"  Can  I  do  any  thing  for  you,  Miss  Lucy  ?" 

"No,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"Won't  you  tell  me  what  is  the  matter?  Are  you  not 
friends  with  me  to-day?" 

"  I  was  put  out  by  a  very  foolish  circumstance,  Mr. 
Dodd,  and  it  is  one  with  which  I  shall  not  trouble  you, 
nor  any  person  of  sense.  I  prefer  to  retain  your  sympathy 
by  not  revealing  the  contemptible  cause  of  my  babyish — 
There !"  She  shook  her  head  proudly,  as  if  tears  were  to 
be  dispersed  like  dew-drops.  "  There !"  she  repeated ;  and 
at  this  second  effort  she  smiled  radiantly. 

"It  is  like  the  sun  coming  out  after  a  shower,"  cried 
David,  rapturously. 

"  That  reminds  me  I  must  be  going  in,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"  Don't  say  that,  Miss  Lucy.     What  for  ?" 

"  To  arrange  another  shower,  one  of  pearls,  on  a  dress  I 
am  to  wear  to-night." 


310         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

David  sighed.  "Ah!  Miss  Lucy,  at  sight  of  me  you  al- 
ways make  for  the  hall  door." 

Lucy  colored.  "  Oh !  do  I  ?  I  really  was  not  aware  of 
that.  Then  I  suppose  I  am  afraid  of  you.  Is  that  what 
you  would  insinuate?" 

"No,  Miss  Lucy,  you  are  not  afraid  of  me ;  but  I  some- 
times fear — "  and  he  hesitated. 

"  It  must  blow  very  hard  that  day,"  said  Lucy,  with  a 
world  of  politeness.  Her  tongue  was  too  quick  for  him. 
He  found  it  so,  and  announced  the  fact  after  his  fashion. 
"  I  can't  tack  fast  enough  to  follow  you,"  said  he,  despond- 
ently. 

"But  you  are  not  required  to  follow  me,"  replied  this 
amiable  eel,  with  hypocritical  benignity;  "I  am  going  to 
my  aunt's  room  to  do  what  I  told  you.  I  leave  you  in 
charge  of  the  quarter-deck."  So  saying,  she  walked  slowly 
up  the  steps,  and  left  David  standing  sorrowfully  on  the 
gravel.  At  the  top  step  Miss  Lucy  turned  and  inquired 
gently  when  he  was  to  sail.  He  told  her  the  ship  was  ex- 
pected to  anchor  off  the  fort  to-morrow,  but  she  would  not 
sail  till  she  had  got  all  her  passengers  on  board. 

"Oh!"  said  Lucy,  with  an  air  of  reflection.  She  then 
leaned  in  an  easy  posture  against  the  wall,  and,  whether  it 
was  that  she  relented  a  little,  or  that,  having  secured  her 
retreat,  she  was  now  indifferent  to  flight,  certain  it  is  that 
she  did  after  her  own  fashion  what  many  a  daughter  of  Eve 
has  done  before  her,  and  many  a  duchess  and  many  a  dairy- 
maid will  do  after  La  Fountain  and  I  are  gone  from  earth. 
A  minute  ago  it  had  been,  "  She  must  go  directly :"  the 
more  opposition  to  her  departure,  the  more  inexorable  the 
necessity  for  her  going ;  opposition  withdrawn,  and  the 
door  open,  she  staid  no  end. 

Full  twenty  minutes  did  that  young  lady  stand  there  un- 
solicited, and  chat  with  David  Dodd  in  the  kindest,  sweet- 
est, most  amicable  way  imaginable. 

She  little  knew  she  had  an  auditor — a  female  auditor, 
keen  as  a  lynx. 


LOVE   J1E   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  311 

All  this  day  Reginald  George  Bazalgette,  Esq.,  might  have 
been  defined  "  a  pest  in  search  of  a  playmate."  Tom  had  got 
a  holiday.  Lucy  only  came  out  of  her  workshop  to  be  seized 
by  Mr.  Fountain.  David,  who  was  waiting  in  the  garden 
for  Lucy,  begged  Reginald  to  excuse  him  for  once.  The 
young  gentleman  had  recourse  as  apis  idler  to  his  mamma. 
He  invaded  her  bedroom,  and  besought  her  piteously  to  play 
at  battledore.  That  lady,  sighing  deeply  at  being  taken 
from  her  dress,  consented.  Her  soul  not  being  in  it,  she  play- 
ed very  badly.  Her  cub  did  not  fail  to  tell  her  so.  "  Why, 
I  can  keep  up  a  hundred  with  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  he. 

"  Oh !  we  all  know  Mr.  Dodd  is  perfection,"  said  the 
lady,  with  a  sneer.  She  was  piqued  with  David.  He  had 
gone  and  left  her  in  a  brutal  way,  to  make  his  apologies  to 
Lucy. 

"  No,  he  is  not,"  said  Reginald.  "  I  have  found  him  out. 
He  is  as  unjust  as  the  rest  of  them." 

"  Dear  me !  and,  pray,  what  has  he  done  ?" 

"I  will  tell  you,  mamma,  if  you  will  promise  not  to  tell 
papa,  because  he  told  me  not  to  listen,  and  I  didn't  listen, 
mamma,  because,  you  know,  a  gentleman  always  keeps  his 
word ;  but  they  talked  so  loud  the  words  would  come  into 
my  ear ;  I  could  not  keep  them  out ;  mamma,  are  there  any 
naughty  ladies  here  ?" 

"  No,  my  dear." 

"  Then  what  did  pana  mean  warning  Mr.  Dodd  against 
one?" 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  began  to  listen  as  he  wished. 

"  Oh !  he  called  her  all  the  names.  He  said  she  was  a 
statute  of  flirtation." 

"Who?  Lucyf 

"  Lucy  t  no !  the  naughty  lady — the  one  that  had  twelve 
husbands.  He  kept  warning  him,  and  warning  him,  and 
then  Mr.  Dodd  and  papa  they  began  to  quarrel  almost,  be- 
cause Mr.  Dodd  said  the  naughty  lady  was  quite  young,  and 
papa  said  she  was  ever  so  old.  Mr.  Dodd  said  she  was 
twenty-one.  But  papa  told  him  she  must  be  more  than 


812         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

that,  because  she  had  a  child  that  would  be  fifteen  years 
old ;  only  it  died.  How  old  would  sister  Emily  be  if  she 
was  alive,  mamma?  La,  mamma,  how  pretty  you  are: 
you  have  got  red  cheeks  like  Lucy — redder,  oh !  ever  so 
much  redder,  and  in  general  they  are  so  pale  before  dinner. 
Let  me  kiss  you,  mamma.  I  do  love  the  ladies  when  their 
cheeks  are  red." 

"There!  there!  now  go  on,  dear;  tell  me  some  more." 

"It  is  very  interesting,  isn't  it,  dear  mamma"?" 

"It  is  amusing,  at  all  events." 

"  No,  it  is  not  amusing — at  least  what  came  after  isn't : 
it  is  wicked,  it  is  unjust,  it  is  abominable." 

"Tell  me,  dear." 

"It  turned  out  it  wasn't  the  naughty  lady  Mr.  Dodd  was 
in  love  for,  and  who  do  you  think  he  is  in  love  of?" 

"  I  have  not  an  idea." 

"MY  LUCY!!!' 

"Nonsense,  child." 

"  No,  no,  mamma,  it  is  not.     He  owned  it  plump." 

"  Are  you  quite  sure,  love  ?" 

"  Upon  my  honor." 

"  What  did  they  say  next  1" 

"  Oh !  next  papa  began  to  talk  his  fine  words  that  I  don't 
know  what  the  meaning  of  them  means  one  bit.  But  Mr. 
Dodd,  he  could  make  them  out,  I  suppose,  for  he  said, '  So, 
then,  the  upshot  is — '  There,  noy,  what  is  upshot?  I 
don't  know.  How  stupid  grown-up  people  are ;  they  keep 
using  words  that  one  doesn't  know  the  meaning  of." 

"  Never  mind,  love !  tell  me.  What  came  after  upshot?" 
said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  soothingly,  with  great  apparent  calm- 
ness and  flashing  eye. 

"  How  kind  you  are  to-day,  mamma  !  That  is  twice 
you  have  called  me  love,  and  three  times  dear ;  only  think. 
I  should  love  you  if  you  were  always  so  kind,  and  your 
cheeks  as  red  as  they  are  now." 

"Never  mind  my  cheeks.  What  did  Mr.  Dodd  say? 
Try  and  remember — come — '  The  upshot  was — ' " 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         313 

"  The  upshot  was — what  was  the  upshot  ?  I  forget.  No, 
I  remember ;  the  upshot  was,  if  Lucy  said  '  yes,'  papa  would 
not  say  '  no ;'  that  meant  to  marry  him.  Now  didn't  you 
promise  me  her  ever  so  long  ago — the  day  you  and  I  agreed 
if  I  went  a  whole  day  without  being  naughty  once  I  should 
have  her  forever  and  ever  ?  and  I  did  go." 

"  Go  to  Lucy's  room,  and  tell  her  to  come  to  me,"  said 
Mrs.  Bazalgette,  in  a  stern,  thoughtful  voice,  which  startled 
poor  Reginald,  coming  so  soon  after  the  calinerie.  How- 
ever, he  told  her  it  was  no  use  his  going  to  Lucy's  room, 
for  she  was  out  in  the  garden  ;  he  had  seen  her  there  walk- 
ing with  Mr.  Fountain.  Reginald  then  ran  to  the  window 
which  commanded  the  garden  to  look  for  Lucy.  He  had 
scarcely  reached  it  when  he  began  to  squeak  wildly,  "  Come 
here !  come  here  !  come  here !"  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  at 
the  window  in  a  moment,  and  lo !  at  the  end  of  the  garden, 
Walking  slowly  side  by  side,  were  Lucy  and  Mr.  Dodd. 

Ridiculous  as  it  may  appear,  a  pang  of  jealousy  shot 
through  the  married  flirt's  heart  that  made  her  almost  feel 
sick.  This  was  followed  at  the  interval  of  half  a  second  by 
as  pretty  a  flame  of  hatred  as  ever  the  spretce  in juria  format 
lighted  up  in  a  coquette's  heart.  Doubt  drove  in  its  small- 
er sting  besides,  and  at  sight  of  the  couple  she  resolved  to 
have  better  evidence  than  Reginald's,  especially  as  to  Lucy's 
sentiments.  The  plan  she  hit  upon  was  effective,  but  vul- 
gar, and  must  not  be  witnessed  by  a  boy  of  inconvenient 
memory  and  mistimed  fluency:  she  got  rid  of  him  with 
high -principled  dexterity.  "Reginald,"  said  she,  sadly, 
"you  are  a  naughty  boy,  a  disobedient  boy,  to  listen  when 
your  papa  told  you  not,  and  to  tell  me  a  pack  of  falsehoods. 
I  must  either  tell  your  papa,  or  I  must  punish  you  myself; 
I  prefer  to  do  it  myself,  he  would  whip  you  so ;"  with  this 
she  suddenly  opened  her  dressing-room  door,  and  pushed 
the  terrible  infant  in,  and  locked  the  door.  She  then  told 
him  through  the  keyhole  he  had  better  cease  yelling,  be- 
cause, if  he  kept  quiet,  his  punishment  would  only  last  half 
an  hour,  and  she  flew  down  stairs.  There  was  a  large  hot- 

O 


314  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

house  with  two  doors,  one  of  which  came  very  near  to  the 
house  door  that  opened  into  the  garden.  Mrs.  Bazalgette 
entered  the  hot-house  at  the  other  end,  and,  hidden  by  the 
exotic  trees  and  flowers,  made  rapidly  for  the  door  Lucy 
and  David  must  pass.  She  found  it  wide  open.  She  half 
shut  it,  and  slipped  behind  it,  listening  like  a  hare  and  spy- 
ing like  a  hawk  through  the  hinges.  And,  strange  as  it 
may  appear,  she  had  an  idea  she  should  make  a  discovery. 
As  the  finished  sportsman  watches  a  narrow  ride  in  the 
wood,  not  despairing  by  a  snap-shot  to  bag  his  hare  as  she 
crosses  it,  though  seen  but  for  a  moment,  so  the  Bazalgette 
felt  sure  that,  as  the  couple  passed  her  ambush,  something, 
either  in  the  two  sentences  they  might  utter,  or,  more  prob- 
ably, in  their  tones  and  general  manner,  would  reveal  to  one 
of  her  experience  on  what  footing  they  were. 

A  shrewd  calculation !  But  things  will  be  things  :  they 
take  such  turns,  I  might  without  exaggeration  say  twists, 
that  calculation  is  baffled,  and  prophecy  dissolved  into  pitch 
and  toss.  This  thing  turned  just  as  not  expected.  Primo, 
instead  of  getting  only  a  snap-shot,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  heard 
every  word  of  a  long  conversation ;  and,  secundo,  when  she 
had  heard  it  she  could  not  tell  for  certain  on  what  footing 
the  lady  and  gentleman  were.  At  first,  from  their  famil- 
iarity, she  inclined  to  think  they  were  lovers ;  but  the  more 
she  listened,  the  more  doubtful  she  seemed.  Lucy  was  the 
chief  speaker,  and  what  she  said  showed  an  undisguised  in- 
terest in  her  companion ;  but  the  subject  accounted  in  great 
measure  for  that ;  she  was  talking  of  his  approaching  voy- 
age, of  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  his  profession,  and  of 
his  return  two  years  hence,  his  chances  of  pi-omotion,  etc. 
But  here  was  no  proof  positive  of  love :  they  were  acquaint- 
ances of  some  standing.  Then  Lucy's  manner  struck  her  as 
rather  amicable -than  amorous.  She  was  calm,  kind,  self- 
possessed,  and  almost  voluble.  As  for  David,  he  only  got 
in  a  word  here  and  there.  When  he  did,  there  was  some- 
thing so  different  in  his  voice  from  any  thing  he  had  ever 
bestowed  on  her,  that  she  hated  him,  and  longed  to  stick 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  315 

scissors  into  him  from  the  rear,  unseen.  At  last  Lucy  sud- 
denly recollected,  or  seemed  to  recollect  she  was  busy,  and 
retired  hastily — so  hastily  that  David  saw  too  late  his  op- 
portunity lost.  But  the  music  of  her  voice  had  so  charm- 
ed him  that  he  did  not  like  to  interrupt  it  even  to  speak  of 
that  which  was  nearest  his  heart.  David  sighed  deeply, 
standing  there  alone. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  clenched  her  little  fists,  and  looked  round 
for  the  means  of  vengeance.  David  went  down  on  his 
knees.  La  Bazalgette  glared  through  the  crack,  and  won- 
dered what  on  earth  he  was  at  now.  Oh  !  he  was  praying. 
"He  loves  her:  he  is  eccentricity  itself;  so  he  is  praying 
for  her,  and  on  my  door-steps"  (the  householder  wounded 
as  well  as  the  flirt).  It  was  lucky  she  had  not  "  a  thun- 
derbolt in  her  eye" — Shakspeare,  or  a  celestial  messenger 
of  the  wrong  sort  would  have  descended  on  the  devout 
mariner.  It  was  more  than  Mrs.  Bazalgette  could  bear : 
she  had  now  and  then,  not  often,  unlady-like  impulses. 
One  of  them  had  set  her  crouching  behind  the  door  of  an 
outhouse,  and  listening  through  a  crack ;  and  now  she  had 
another,  an  irresistible  one :  it  was,  to  take  that  empty 
flower-pot,  fling  it  as  hard  as  ever  she  could  at  the  devotee, 
then  shut  the  door  quick,  fly  out  at  the  other  door,  and 
leave  her  faithless  swain  in  the  agony  of  knowing  himself 
detected  and  exposed  by  some  unknown  and  undiscoverable 
enemy. 

For  a  vengeance  extemporized  in  less  than  half  a  second, 
this  was  very  respectable.  Well,  she  clawed  the  flower-pot 
noiselessly,  put  her  other  hand  on  the  door,  cast  a  hasty 
glance  at  the  means  of  retreat,  and — things  took  another 
twist :  she  heard  the  rustle  of  a  coming  gown,  and  drew 
back  again,  and  out  came  Lucy,  and  nearly  ran  over  Da- 
vid, who  was  not  on  his  knees  after  all,  but  down  on  his 
nose,  prostrate  Orientally.  The  fact  is,  Lucy,  among  her 
other  qualities,  good  and  bad,  was  a  born  housewife,  and 
solicitously  careful  of  certain  odds  and  ends  called  property. 
She  found  she  had  dropped  one  of  her  gloves  in  the  gar- 


316  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

den,  and  she  came  back  in  a  state  of  disproportionate  un- 
easiness to  find  it,  and  nearly  ran  over  David  Dodd. 

"  What  are  you  doing,  Mr.  Dodd  T' 

David  arose  from  his  Oriental  position,  and  being  a  young 
man  whose  impulse  always  was  to  tell  the  simple  truth,  re- 
plied, "I  was  kissing  the  place  where  you  stood  so  long." 

He  did  not  feel  he  had  done  any  thing  extraordinary,  so 
he  gave  her  this  information  composedly ;  but  her  face  was 
scarlet  in  an  instant;  and  he,  seeing  that,  began  to  blush 
too.  For  once  Lucy's  tact  was  baffled :  she  did  not  know 
what  on  earth  to  say,  and  she  stood  blushing  like  a  girl  of 
fifteen. 

Then  she  tried  to  turn  it  off. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,  how  can  you  be  so  ridiculous ?"  said  she,  af- 
fecting humorous  disdain. 

But  David  was  not  to  be  put  down  now  :  he  was  launched. 

"  I  am  not  ridiculous  for  loving  and  worshiping  you,  for 
you  are  worthy  of  even  more  love  than  any  human  heart 
can  hold." 

"  Oh,  hush,  Mr.  Dodd.     I  must  not  hear  this." 

"Miss  Lucy,  I  can't  keep  it  any  longer — you  must,  you 
shall  hear  me.  You  can  despise  my  love  if  you  will,  but 
you  shall  know  it  before  you  reject  it." 

"  Mr.  Dodd,  you  have  every  right  to  be  heard,  but  let  me 
persuade  you  not  to  insist.  Oh  !  why  did  I  come  back?" 

"The  first  moment  I  saw  you,  Miss  Lucy,  it  was  a  new 
life  to  me.  I  never  looked  twice  at  any  girl  before.  It  is 
not  your  beauty  only — oh  no  !  it  is  your  goodness — good- 
ness such  as  I  never  thought  was  to  be  found  on  earth. 
Don't  turn  your  head  from  me;  I  know  my  defects:  could 
I  look  on  you  and  not  see  them?  My  manners  are  blunt 
and  rude — oh  !  how  different  from  yours  ! — but  you  could 
soon  make  me  a  fine  gentleman,  I  love  you  so.  And  I  am 
only  the  first  mate  of  an  Indiaman ;  but  I  should  be  a  cap- 
tain next  voyage,  Miss  Lucy,  and  a  sailor  like  me  has  no 
expenses ;  all  he  has  is  his  wife's.  The  first  lady  in  the 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         317 

land  will  not  be  petted  as  you  will,  if  you  will  look  kindly 
on  me.  Listen  to  me,"  trying  to  tempt  her.  "  No,  Miss 
Lucy,  I  have  nothing  to  offer  you  worth  your  acceptance, 
only  my  love.  No  man  ever  loved  woman  as  I  love  you :  it 
is  not  love,  it  is  worship,  it  is  adoration !  Ah !  she  is  go- 
ing to  speak  to  me  at  last !" 

Lucy  presented  at  this  moment  a  strange  contrast  of 
calmness  and  agitation.  Her  bosom  heaved  quickly,  and 
she  was  pale,  but  her  voice  was  calm,  and,  though  gentle, 
decided. 

"  I  know  you  love  me,  Mr.  Dodd,  and  I  feared  this.  I 
have  tried  to  save  you  the  mortification  of  being  declined 
by  one  who,  in  many  things,  is  your  inferior.  I  have  even 
been  rude  and  unkind  to  you.  Forgive  me  for  it.  I  meant 
it  kindly.  I  regret  it  now.  Mr.  Dodd,  I  thank  you  for 
the  honor  you  do  me,  but  I  can  not  accept  your  love." 
There  was  a  pause,  but  David's  tongue  seemed  glued  to  the 
roof  of  his  mouth.  He  was  not  surprised,  yet  he  was  stu- 
pefied when  the  blow  came. 

At  last  he  gasped  out,  "  You  love  some  other  man  ?" 

Lucy  was  silent. 

"Answer  me,  for  pity's  sake;  give  me  something  to  help 
me." 

"  You  have  no  right  to  ask  me  such  a  question,  but — I 
have  no  attachment,  Mr.  Dodd." 

"  Ah !  then  one  word  more :  is  it  because  you  can  not 
love  me,  or  because  I  am  poor,  and  only  first  mate  of  an 
Indiaman  1" 

"  That  I  will  not  answer.  You  have  no  right  to  question 
a  lady  why  she — stay!  you  wish  to  despise  me.  "Well, 
why  not,  if  that  will  cure  you  of  this  unfortunate — Think 
what  you  please  of  me,  Mr.  Dodd,"  murmured  Lucy,  sadly. 

"Ah  !  you  know  I  can't,"  cried  David,  despairingly. 

"  I  know  that  you  esteem  me  more  than  I  deserve.  Well, 
I  esteem  you,  Mr.  Dodd.  Why,  then,  can  we  not  be  friends  ? 
You  have  only  to  promise  me  you  will  never  return  to  this 
subject — cornel" 


318  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG. 

"  Me  promise  not  to  love  you  !  what  is  the  use  ?  Me  be 
your  friend,  and  nothing  more,  and  stand  looking  on  at  the 
heaven  that  is  to  be  another's,  and  never  to  be  mine  ?  It 
is  my  turn  to  decline.  Never.  Betrothed  lovers  or  stran- 
gers, but  nothing  between  ?  It  would  drive  me  mad. 
Away  from  you,  and  out  of  sight  of  your  sweet  face,  I  may 
make  shift  to  live,  and  go  through  my  duty  somehow,  for 
my  mother's  and  sister's  sake." 

"  You  are  wiser  than  I  was,  Mr.  Dodd.  Yes,  we  must 
part." 

"  Of  course  we  must.  I  have  got  my  answer,  and  a  kind- 
er one  than  I  deserve  ;  and  now  what  is  the  polite  thing  for 
me  to  do,  I  wonder  T'  David  said  this  with  terrible  bitter- 
ness. 

"You  frighten  me,"  sighed  Lucy. 

"Don't  you  be  frightened,  sweet  angel;  there!  I  have 
been  used  to  obey  orders  all  my  life,  and  I  am  like  a  ship 
tossed  in  the  breakers,  and  you  are  calm — calm  as  death. 
Give  me  my  orders,  for  God's  sake." 

"  It  is  not  for  me  to  command  you,  Mr.  Dodd.  I  have 
forfeited  that  right.  But  listen  to  her  who  still  asks  to  be 
your  friend,  and  she  will  tell  you  what  will  be  best  for  you, 
and  kindest,  and  most  generous  to  her." 

"  Tell  me  about  that  last ;  the  other  is  a  waste  of  words." 

"  I  will,  then :  your  sister  is  somewhere  in  the  neighbor- 
hood." 

"  She  is  at ;  how  did  you  know  1" 

"I  saw  her  on  your  arm.  I  am  glad  she  is  so  near — 
oh  !  so  glad.  Bid  my  uncle  and  aunt  good-by ;  make  some 
excuse.  Go  to  your  sister  at  once.  She  loves  you.  She 
is  better  than  I  am,  if  you  will  but  see  us  as  we  really  arc. 
Go  to  her  at  once,"  faltered  Lucy,  who  disliked  Eve,  and 
Eve  her. 

"  I  will !  I  will !  I  have  thought  too  little  of  my  own 
flesh  and  blood.  Shall  I  go  now  ?" 

"  Yes,"  murmured  Lucy  softly,  trying  to  disarm  the  fatal 
word.  "  Forget  me — and — forgive  me  1"  and  with  this  last 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  319 

word  scarce  audible,  she  averted  her  face,  and  held  out  her 
hand  with  angelic  dignity,  modesty,  and  pity. 

The  kind  words  and  the  gentle  action  brought  down  the 
stout  heart  that  had  looked  death  in  the  face  so  often  with- 
out flinching.  "  Forgive  you,  sweet  angel !"  he  cried ;  "  I 
pray  Heaven  to  bless  you,  and  to  make  you  as  happy  as  I 
am  desolate  for  your  sake.  Oh  I  you  show  me  more  and 
more  what  I  lose  this  day.  God  bless  you !  God  bless — " 
and  David's  heart  filled  to  choking,  and  he  burst  out  sob- 
bing despairingly,  and  the  hot  tears  ran  suddenly  from  his 
eyes  over  her  hand  as  he  kissed  and  kissed  it.  Then,  with 
an  almost  savage  feeling  of  shame  (for  these  were  not  eyes 
that  were  wont  to  weep),  he  uttered  one  cry  of  despair  and 
ran  away,  leaving  her  pale  and  panting  heavily. 

She  looked  piteously  at  her  hand,  wet  with  a  hero's  tears, 
and  for  the  second  time  to-day  her  own  began  to  gush.  She 
felt  a  need  of  being  alone.  She  wanted  to  think  on  what 
she  had  done.  She  would  hide  in  the  garden.  She  ran 
down  the  steps ;  lo !  there  was  Mr.  Hardie  coming  up  the 
gravel-walk.  She  uttered  a  little  cry  of  impatience,  and 
dashed  impetuously  into  the  hot-house,  driving  the  half- 
open  door  before  her  with  her  person  as  well  as  her  arm. 

A  scream  of  terror  and  pain  issued  from  behind  it,  with 
a  crash  of  pottery. 

Lucy  wheeled  round  at  the  sound,  and  there  was  her  aunt, 
flattened  against  the  flower-frame. 

Lucy  stood  transfixed. 

But  soon  her  look  of  surprise  gave  way  to  a  frown,  ay ! 
and  a  sombre  one. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THAT  ready-minded  lady  extricated  herself  from  the  pots, 
and  wriggled  out  of  the  moral  situation.  "I  was  a  listen- 
er, dear  !  an  unwilling  listener ;  but  now  I  do  not  regret  it. 
How  nobly  you  behaved !"  and  with  this  she  came  at  her 
with  open  arms,  crying  "  My  own  dear  niece." 


320  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

Her  own  dear  niece  recoiled  with  a  shiver,  and  put  up 
both  her  hands  as  a  shield. 

"  Oh,  don't  touch  me,  please.  I  never  heard  of  a  lady 
listening ! ! ! !" 

She  then  turned  her  back  on  her  aunt  in  a  somewhat 
uncourtier-like  manner,  and  darted  out  of  the  place,  every 
fibre  of  her  frame  strung  up  tight  with  excitement.  She 
felt  she  was  not  the  calm,  dispassionate  being  of  yesterday, 
and  hurried  to  her  own  room  and  locked  herself  in. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  remained  behind  in  a  state  of  bitter  mor- 
tification, and  breathing  fury  on  her  sinall  scale.  But  what 
could  she  do  ?  David  would  be  out  of  her  reach  in  a  few 
minutes,  and  Lucy  was  scarce  vulnerable. 

In  the  absence  of  any  definite  spite,  she  thought  she  could 
not  go  wrong  in  thwarting  whatever  Lucy  wished,  and  her 
wish  had  been  that  David  should  go.  Besides,  if  she  kept 
him  in  the  house,  who  knows,  she  might  pique  him  with 
Lucy,  and  even  yet  turn  him  her  way ;  so  she  lay  in  wait 
for  him  in  the  hall.  He  soon  appeared  with  his  bag  in  his 
hand.  She  inquired,  with  great  simplicity,  where  he  was 
going.  He  told  her  he  was  going  away.  She  remonstrated, 
first  tenderly,  then  almost  angrily.  "  We  all  counted  on 
you  to  play  the  violin.  We  can't  dance  to  the  piano  alone." 

"  I  am  very  sorry,  but  I  have  got  my  orders."  Then  this 
subtle  lady  said  carelessly,  "  Lucy  will  be  au  dcsespoir.  She 
will  get  no  dancing.  She  said  to  me  just  now,  '  Aunt,  do 
try  and  persuade  Mr.  Dodd  to  stay  over  the  ball.  We  shall 
miss  him  so.' " 

"When  did  she  say  that?" 

"Just  this  minute.     Standing  at  the  door  there." 

"Very  well ;  then  I'll  stay  over  the  ball."  And  without 
a  word  more  he  carried  his  bag  and  violin  case  up  to  his 
room  again.  Oh !  how  La  Bazalgette  hated  him.  She 
now  resigned  all  hope  of  flirting  with  him,  and  contented 
herself  with  the  pleasure  of  watching  him  and  Lucy  to- 
gether. One  would  be  wretched,  and  the  other  must  be 
uncomfortable. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  321 

Lucy  did  not  come  down  to  dinner ;  she  was  lying  down 
with  headache.  She  even  sent  a  message  to  Mrs.-Bazal- 
gette  to  know  whether  she  could  be  dispensed  with  at  the 
ball.  Answer,  "  impossible."  At  half  past  eight  she  got 
up,  put  on  her  costume,  took  it  off  again,  and  dressed  in 
white  watered  silk :  her  assumption  of  a  character  was  con- 
fined to  wearing  a  little  crown  rising  to  a  peak  in  front. 
Many  of  the  guests  had  arrived  when  she  glided  into  the 
room  looking  every  inch  a  queen.  David  was  dazzled  at 
her,  and  awe-struck  at  her  beauty  and  mien,  and  at  his  own 
presumption. 

Her  eye  fell  on  him.  She  gave  a  little  start,  but  passed 
on  without  a  word.  The  carpets  had  been  taken  up,  and 
the  dancing  began. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  arranged  that  Lucy  and  David  should 
play  piano-forte  and  violin  until  some  lady  could  be  found 
to  take  her  part. 

I  incline  to  think  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  spiteful  as  mortified 
vanity  is  apt  to  be,  did  not  know  the  depth  of  anguish  her 
subtle  vengeance  inflicted  on  David  Dodd. 

He  was  pale  and  stern  with  the  bitter  struggle  for  com- 
posure. He  ground  his  teeth,  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  music- 
book,  and  plowed  the  merry  tunes  as  the  fainting  ox  plows 
the  furrow.  He  dared  not  look  at  Lucy,  nor  did  he  speak 
to  her  more  than  was  necessary  for  what  they  were  doing, 
nor  she  to  him.  She  was  vexed  with  him  for  subjecting 
himself  and  her  to  unnecessary  pain,  and  in  the  eye  of  soci- 
ety— her  divinity. 

Another  unhappy  one  was  Mr.  Fountain.  He  sat  dis- 
consolate on  a  seat  all  alone.  Mrs.  Bazalgette  fluttered 
about  like  a  butterfly,  and  sparkled  like  a  Chinese  fire- 
work. 

Two  young  ladies,  sisters,  went  to  the  piano  to  give  Miss 
Fountain  an  opportunity  of  dancing.  She  danced  quad- 
rilles with  four  or  five  gentlemen,  including  her  special  ad- 
mirers. She  declined  to  waltz :  "  I  have  a  little  headache; 
nothing  to  speak  of." 

02 


322         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

She  then  sat  down  to  the  piano  again.  "I  can  play 
alone,  Mr.  Dodd ;  you  have  not  danced  at  all." 

"  I  am  not  in  the  humor." 

"  Very  well." 

This  time  they  played  some  of  the  tunes  they  had  re- 
hearsed together  that  happy  evening,  and  David's  lip  quiv- 
ered. 

Lucy  eyed  him  unobserved. 

"  Was  this  wise — to  subject  yourself  to  this1?" 

"  I  must  obey  orders,  whatever  it  costs  me — '  ri  turn  ti 
turn  ti  turn  ti  turn.' " 

"Who  ordered  you  to  neglect  my  advice? — 'ri  turn  turn 
turn.' " 

" You  did — 'ri  turn  ti  turn  tiddy  iddy.'  " 

A  look  of  silent  disdain :  "  Ri  turn,  ti  turn,  tiddy  iddy." 
(Ah !  perdona  for  relating  things  as  they  happen,  and  not 
as  your  grand  writers  pretend  they  happen.) 

Between  the  quadrilles  she  asked  an  explanation. 

"  Your  aunt  met  me  with  my  bag  in  my  hand,  and  told 
me  you  wanted  me  to  play  to  the  company." 

When  he  said  this,  David  heard  a  sound  like  the  click  of 
a  trigger.  He  looked  up ;  it  was  Lucy  clenching  her  teeth 
convulsively.  But  time  was  up :  the  woman  of  the  world 
must  go  on  like  the  prize-fighter.  The  couples  were  wait- 
ing. 

"  Ri  turn  ti  turn  ti  turn  ti  turn  tiddy  iddy."  For  all  that, 
she  did  not  finish  the  tune.  In  the  middle  of  it  she  said  to 
David,  "  '  Ri  turn  ti  turn — '  can  you  get  through  this  with- 
out me? — 'ri  turn.'" 

"  If  I  can  get  through  life  without  you,  I  can  surely  get 
through  this  twaddle :  '  ri  turn  ti  turn  ti  turn  ti  turn  tiddy 
iddy.' " 

Lucy  started  from  her  seat,  leaving  David  plowing  solo. 
She  started  from  her  seat  and  stood  a  moment,  looking  like 
an  angel  stung  by  vipers.  Her  eye  went  all  round  the  room 
in  one  moment  in  search  of  some  one  to  blight.  It  surprised 
Mr.  Hardie  and  Mrs.  Bazalgette  sitting  together  and  casting 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         323 

ironical  glances  pianoward:  "So  she  has  been  betraying 
to  Mr.  Hardie  the  secret  she  gained  by  listening,"  thought 
Lucy.  The  pair  were  probably  enjoying  David's  mortifica- 
tion, his  misery. 

She  walked  very  slowly  down  the  room  to  this  couple. 
She  looked  them  long  and  full  in  the  face  with  that  con- 
fronting yet  overlooking  glance  which  women  of  the  world 
can  command  on  great  occasions.  It  fell,  and  pressed  on 
them  both  like  lead,  they  could  not  have  told  you  why. 
They  looked  at  one  another  ruefully  when  she  had  passed 
them,  and  then  their  eyes  followed  her :  they  saw  her  walk 
straight  up  to  her  uncle,  and  sit  down  by  him,  and  take  his 
hand.  They  exchanged  another  uneasy  look. 

"Uncle,"  said  Lucy,  speaking  very  quickly,  "you  are 
unhappy.  I  am  the  cause.  I  am  come  to  say  that  I 
promise  you  not  to  marry  any  one  my  aunt  shall  propose  to 
me." 

"My  dear  girl,  then  you  won't  marry  that  shopkeeper 
there?" 

"What  need  of  names,  still  less  of  epithets?  I  will 
marry  no  friend  of  hers." 

"  Ah !  now  you  are  my  brother's  daughter  again." 

"  No,  I  love  you  no  better  than  I  did  this  morning ;  but 
the—" 

Celestial  happiness  diffused  itself  over  old  Fountain's 
face,  and  Lucy  glided  back  to  the  piano  just  as  the  quad- 
rille ended.  "  Give  me  your  arm,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  she,  au- 
thoritatively. She  took  his  arm,  and  made  the  tour  of  the 
room  leaning  on  him,  and  chatting  gayly. 

She  introduced  him  to  the  best  people,  and  contrived  to 
appear  to  the  whole  room  joyous  and  flattered,  leaning  on 
David's  arm. 

The  young  fellows  envied  him  so. 

Every  now  and  then  David  felt  her  noble  white  arm 
twitch  convulsively,  and  her  fingers  pinch  the  cloth  of  his 
sleeve  where  it  was  loose. 

She  guided  him  to  the  supper-room.  It  was  empty. 
"  Oblige  me  with  a  glass  of  water." 


324  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

He  gave  it  her.     She  drank  it. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,  the  advice  I  gave  you  with  my  own  lips  I 
never  retracted.  My  aunt  imposed  upon  you.  It  was  done 
to  mortify  you.  It  has  failed,  as  you  may  have  observed. 
My  head  aches  so,  it  is  intolerable.  When  they  ask  you 
where  I  am,  say  I  am  unwell,  and  have  retired  to  my  room. 
I  shall  not  be  at  breakfast ;  directly  after  breakfast  go  to 
your  sister,  and  tell  her  your  friend  Lucy  declined  you, 
though  she  knows  your  value,  and  would  not  let  you  be 
mortified  by  nullities  and  heartless  fools.  Good-by,  Mr. 
Dodd;  try  and  believe  that  none  of  us  you  leave  in  this 
house  are  worth  remembering,  far  less  regretting." 

She  vanished  haughtily ;  David  crept  back  to  the  ball- 
room :  it  seemed  dark  by  comparison  now  she  who  lent  it 
lustre  was  gone.  He  staid  a  few  minutes,  then  heavy- 
hearted  to  bed. 

The  next  morning  he  shook  hands  with  Mr.  Bazalgette, 
the  only  one  who  was  up,  kissed  the  terrible  infant,  who, 
suddenly  remembering  his  many  virtues,  formally  forgave 
him  his  one  piece  of  injustice,  and,  as  he  came,  BO  he  went 
away,  his  bag  on  his  shoulder,  and  his  violin  case  in  his 
hand. 


He  went  to  Cousin  Mary,  and  asked  for  Eve.  Cousin 
Mary's  face  turned  red :  "  You  will  find  her  at  No.  80  in 
this  street.  She  is  gone  into  lodgings."  The  fact  is,  the 
cousins  had  had  a  tiff,  and  Eve  had  left  the  house  that  mo- 
ment. 

Oh !  'my  sweet,  my  beloved  heroines — you  young  vipers, 
when  will  you  learn  to  be  faultless,  like  other  people  ?  You 
have  turned  my  face  into  a  peony,  blushing  for  you  at  ev- 
ery fourth  page. 

David  came  into  her  apartment :  he  smiled  sweetly,  but 
sadly.  "  Well,  it  is  all  over.  I  have  offered,  and  been  de- 
clined." 

At  seeing  him  so  quiet  and  resigned,  Eve  burst  out  crying. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         325 

"Don't  you  cry,  dear,"  said  David.  "It .is  best  so.  It 
is  almost  a  relief.  Any  thing  before  the  suspense  I  was  en- 
during." 

Then  Eve,  recovering  her  spirits  by  the  help  of  anger, 
began  to  abuse  Lucy  for  a  cold-hearted,  deceitful  girl ;  but 
David  stopped  her  sternly. 

"Not  a  word  against  her — not  a  word.  I  should  hate 
any  one  that  miscalled  her.  She  speaks  well  of  you,  Eve  ; 
why  need  you  speak  ill  of  her "?  She  and  I  parted  friends, 
and  friends  let  us  be.  There  is  no  hate  can  lie  alongside 
love  in  a  true  heart.  No,  let  nobody  speak  of  her  at  all  to 
me.  I  sha'n't ;  my  thoughts,  they  are  my  own.  '  Go  to 
your  sister,'  said  she,  and  here  I  am ;  and  I  beg  your  par- 
don, Eve,  for  neglecting  you  as  I  have  of  late." 

"  Oh,  never  mind  that,  David ;  our  affection  will  outlast 
this  folly  many  a  long  year." 

"  Please  God !  Your  hand  in  mine,  Eve,  my  lamb,  and 
let  us  talk  of  ourselves  and  mother :  the  time  is  short." 

They  sat  hand  in  hand,  and  never  mentioned  Lucy's 
name  again ;  and,  strange  to  say,  it  was  David  who  con- 
soled Eve ;  for,  now  the  battle  was  lost,  her  spirit  seemed 
to  have  all  deserted  her,  and  she  kept  bursting  out  crying 
every  now  and  then  irrelevantly. 

It  was  three  in  the  afternoon :  David  was  sitting  by  the 
window,  and  Eve  packing  his  chest  in  the  same  room,  not 
to  be  out  of  his  sight  a  minute,  when  suddenly  he  started 
up  and  cried,  "  There  she  is,"  and  an  instinctive  unreason- 
able joy  illumined  his  face ;  the  next  moment  his  counte- 
nance fell. 

The  carriage  passed  down  the  street. 

"I  remember  now,"  muttered  David,  "I  heard  she  was 
to  go  sailing,  and  Mr.  Talboys  was  to  be  skipper  of  the 
boat.  Ah!  well." 

"Well,  let  them  sail,  David.  It  it  not  your  busi- 
ness." 

"  That  it  is  not,  Eve — nobody's  less  than  mine." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG- 

"  Eve,  there  is  plenty  of  wind  blowing  up  from  the  nor- 
east." 

"  Is  there  1  I  am  afraid  that  will  bring  your  ship  down 
quick." 

"  Yes ;  but  it  is  not  that.  I  am  afraid  that  lubber  won't 
think  of  looking  to  windward." 

"  Nonsense  about  the  wind  ;  it  is  a  beautiful  day.  Come, 
David,  it  is  no  use  fighting  against  nature.  Put  on  your 
hat,  then,  and  run  down  to  the  beach,  and  see  the  last  of 
her;  only,  for  my  sake,  don't  let  the  others  see  you,  to 
jeer  you." 

"No,  no." 

"  And  mind  and  be  back  to  dinner  at  four ;  I  have  got 
a  nice  roast  fowl  for  you." 

"Ay,  ay." 

A  little  before  four  o'clock  a  sailor  brought  a  note  from 
David,  written  hastily  in  pencil.  It  was  sent  up  to  Eve. 
She  read  it,  and  clasped  her  hands  vehemently. 

"Oh  David,  David,  she  was  born  to  be  your  destruc- 
tion." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

MR.  FOUNTAIN,  Miss  Fountain,  and  Mr.  Talboys  started 
to  go  on  the  boating  expedition.  As  they  were  getting 
into  the  boat,  Mr.  Fountain  felt  a  little  ill,  and  begged  to 
be  excused.  Mr.  Talboys  offered  to  return  with  him.  He 
declined :  "  Have  your  little  sail.  I  will  wait  at  the  inn 
for  you." 

This  pantomime  had,  I  blush  to  say,  been  arranged  be- 
forehand. Miss  Fountain,  wo  may  be  sure,  saw  through 
it,  but  she  gave  no  sign.  A  lofty  impassibility  marked  her 
demeanor,  and  she  let  them  do  just  what  they  liked  with 
her. 

The  boat  was  launched,  the  foresail  set,  and  Fountain 
remained  on  shore  in  any  thing  but  a  calm  and  happy  state. 

But  friendships  like  these  are  not  free  from  dross ;  and 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         327 

I  must  confess  that  among  the  feelings  which  crossed  his 
mind  was  a  hope  that  Talboys  would  pop,  and  be  refused, 
as  he  had  been.  Why  should  he,  Fountain,  monopolize 
defeat  ?  "We  should  share  all  things  with  a  friend. 

Meantime,  by  one  of  those  caprices  to  which  her  sex  are 
said  to  be  peculiarly  subject,  Lucy  seemed  to  have  given 
up  all  intention  of  carrying  out  her  plan  for  getting  rid  of 
Mr.  Talboys.  Instead  of  leading  him  on  to  his  fate,  she 
interposed  a  subtle  but  almost  impassable  barrier  between 
him  and  destruction ;  her  manner  and  deportment  were  of 
a  nature  to  freeze  declarations  of  love  upon  the  human  lip. 
She  leaned  back  languidly  and  imperially  on  the  luxurious 
cushions,  and  listlessly  eyed  the  sky  and  the  water,  and  ig- 
nored with  perfect  impartiality  all  the  living  creatures  in 
the  boat. 

Mr.  Talboys  endeavored  in  vain  to  draw  her  out  of  this 
languid  mood.  He  selected  an  interesting  subject  of  con- 
versation to — himself;  he  told  her  of  his  feats,  yachting  in 
the  Mediterranean ;  he  did  not  tell  her,  though,  that  his 
yacht  was  sailed  by  the  master,  and  not  by  him,  her  pro- 
prietor. In  reply  to  all  this  Lucy  dropped  out  languid 
monosyllables. 

At  last  Talboys  got  piqued  and  clapped  on  sail. 

There  had  not  been  a  breath  of  air  until  half  an  hour 
before  they  started,  but  now  a  stiff  breeze  had  sprung  up ; 
so  they  had  smooth  water  and  yet  plenty  of  wind,  and  the 
boat  cut  swiftly  through  the  bubbling  water. 

"  She  walks  well,"  said  the  yachtsman. 

Lucy  smiled  a  gracious,  though  still  rather  too  queenly 
assent.  I  think  the  motion  was  pleasing  her.  Lively  mo- 
tion is  very  agreeable  to  her  sex. 

"  This  is  a  very  fast  boat,"  said  Mr.  Talboys.  "  I  should 
like  to  try  her  speed.  What  do  you  say,  Miss  Fountain  ?" 

'•'•With  all  my  heart"  said  Lucy,  in  a  tone  that  expressed 
her  utter  indifference. 

"  Here  is  this  lateen-rigged  boat  creeping  down  on  our 
quarter;  we  will  stand  east  till  she  runs  down  to  us,  and 


828         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

then  we  will  run  by  her  and  challenge  her."  Accordingly 
Talboys  stood  east. 

But  he  did  not  get  his  race ;  for,  somewhat  to  his  sur- 
prise, the  lateen-rigged  boat,  instead  of  holding  her  course, 
which  was  about  south-southwest,  bore  up  directly  and 
stood  east,  keeping  about  half  a  mile  to  windward  of  Tal- 
boys. 

This  puzzled  Talboys.  "They  are  afraid  to  try  it," 
said  he.  "  If  they  are  afraid  of  us  sailing  on  a  wind,  they 
would  not  have  much  chance  with  us  in  beating  to  wind- 
ward :  a  lugger  can  lie  two  points  nearer  the  wind  than  a 
schooner." 

All  this  science  was  lost  on  Lucy.  She  lay  back  languid 
and  listless. 

Mr.  Talboys'  crew  consisted  of  a  man  and  a  boy.  He 
steered  the  boat  himself.  He  ordered  them  to  go  about  and 
sail  due  west.  It  was  no  sooner  done  than,  lo  and  behold, 
the  schooner  came  about  and  sailed  west,  keeping  always 
half  a  mile  to  windward. 

"  That  boat  is  following  us,  Miss  Fountain." 

"What  for?"  inquired  she;  "is  it  my  uncle  coming  aft- 
er us  ?" 

"  No ;  I  see  no  one  aboard  but  a  couple  of  fishermen." 

"  They  are  not  fishermen,"  put  in  the  boy ;  "  they  are 
sailors — coast-guard  men  likely." 

"Besides,"  said  Mr.  Talboys,  "your  uncle  would  run 
down  to  us  at  once,  but  these  keep  waiting  on  us  and 
dogging  us.  Confound  their  impudence." 

"  It  is  all  fancy,"  said  Lucy ;  "  run  away  as  fast  as  you 
can  that  way,"  and  she  pointed  down  the  wind,  "  and  you 
will  see  nobody  will  take  the  trouble  to  run  after  us." 

"  Hoist  the  mainsail,"  cried  Talboys. 

They  had  hitherto  been  sailing  under  ihe  foresail  only. 
In  another  minute  they  were  running  furiously  before  the 
wind  with  both  sails  set.  The  boat  yawed,  and  Lucy  be- 
gan to  be  nervous ;  still,  the  increased  rapidity  of  motion 
excited  her  agreeably.  The  lateen-schooner,  sailing  under 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  329 

her  foresail  only,  luffed  directly  and  stood  on  in  the  lugger's 
wake.  Lucy's  cheek  burned,  but  she  said  nothing. 

"There,"  cried  Talboys,  "now  do  you  believe  me?  I 
think  we  gain  on  her,  though." 

"  We  are  going  three  knots  to  her  two,  sir,"  said  the  old 
man,  "  but  it  is  by  her  good  will ;  that  is  the  fastest  boat 
in  the  town,  sailing  on  a  wind  ;  at  beating  to  windward  we 
could  tackle  her  easy  enough,  but  not  at  running  free.  Ah ! 
there  goes  her  mainsel  up ;  I  thought  she  would  not  be  long 
before  she  gave  us  that." 

"  Oh,  how  beautiful !"  cried  Lucy ;  "  it  is  like  a  falcon  or 
an  eagle  sailing  down  on  us ;  it  seems  all  wings.  Why  don't 
we  spread  wings  too  and  fly  away  ?" 

"You  see,  miss,"  explained  the  boatman,  "that  schooner 
works  her  sails  different  from  us :  going  down  wind  she  can 
carry  her  mainsel  on  one  side  of  the  craft  and  her  foresel  on 
the  other.  By  that  she  keeps  on  an  even  keel,  and,  what  is 
more,  her  mainsel  does  not  take  the  wind  out  of  her  foresel. 
Bless  you,  that  little  schooner  would  run  past  the  fastest 
frigate  in  the  king's  service  with  the  wind  dead  aft  as  we 
have  got  it  now :  she  is  coming  up  with  us  hand  over  head, 
and  as  stiff  on  her  keel  as  a  rock :  this  is  her  point  of  sail- 
ing, beating  to  windward  is  ourn.  Why,  if  they  ain't  reef- 
ing the  foresel,  to  make  the  race  even ;  and  there  go  three 
reefs  into  her  mainsel  too."  The  old  boatman  scratched  his 
head. 

"  Who  is  aboard  her,  Dick  ?  they  are  strangers  to  me." 

By  taking  in  so  many  reefs  the  lateen  had  lowered  her 
rate  of  sailing,  and  she  now  followed  in  their  wake,  keeping 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  to  windward. 

Talboys  lost  all  patience.  "Who  is  it,  I  wonder,  that 
has  the  insolence  to  dog  us  so?"  and  he  looked  keenly  at 
Miss  Fountain. 

She  did  not  think  herself  bound  to  reply,  and  gazed  with 
a  superior  air  of  indifference  on  the  sky  and  the  water. 

"  I  will  soon  know,"  said  Talboys. 

"What  does  it  matter?"  inquired  Lucy.  "Probably 
somebody  who  is  wasting  his  time  as  we  are." 


330         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  The  road  we  are  on  is  as  free  to  him  as  to  us,"  suggest- 
ed the  old  boatman,  with  a  fine  sense  of  natural  justice. 
He  added,  "  But  if  you  will  take  my  advice,  sir,  you  will 
shorten  sail,  and  put  her  about  for  home :  it  is  blowing 
half  a  gale  of  wind,  and  the  sea  will  be  getting  up,  and  that 
won't  be  agreeable  for  the  young  lady." 

"Gale  of  wind?  nonsense,"  said  Talboys;  "it  is  a  fine 
breeze." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,  sir,"  said  Lucy  to  the  old  man  ;  "  I  love 
the  sea,  but  I  should  not  like  to  be  out  in  a  storm." 

The  old  boatman  grinned.  "  '  Storm'  is  a  word  that  an 
old  salt  reserves  for  one  of  those  hurricanes  that  blow  a  field 
of  turnips  flat,  and  teeth  down  your  throat.  You  can  turn 
round  and  lean  your  back  against  it  like  a  post ;  and  a 
carrion-crow  making  for  the  next  parish  gets  fanned  into 
another  county  :  that  is  a  storm." 

The  old  boatman  went  forward  grinning,  and  he  and  his 
boy  lowered  the  mainsail.  Then  Talboys  at  the  helm 
brought  the  boat's  head  round  to  the  wind.  She  came 
down  to  her  bearings  directly,  which  is  as  much  as  to  say 
that  to  Lucy  she  seemed  to  be  upsetting.  Lucy  gave  a  lit- 
tle scream.  The  sail,  too,  made  a  report  like  the  crack  of 
a  pistol. 

"  Oh!  what  is  thatf  cried  Lucy. 

"Wind,  mum,"  replied  the  boatman,  composedly. 

"  What  is  that  purple  line  on  the  water,  sir,  out  there,  a 
long  way  beyond  the  other  boat  ?" 

"Wind,  mum." 

"  It  seems  to  move:  it  is  coming  this  way." 

"  Ay,  mum,  that  is  a  thing  that  always  makes  to  lee- 
ward," said  the  old  fellow,  grinning.  "  I'll  take  in  a  couple 
of  reefs  before  it  comes  to  us." 

Meantime,  the  moment  the  lugger  lowered  her  mainsail, 
the  schooner,  divining,  as  it  appeared,  her  intention,  did  the 
same,  and  luffed  immediately,  and  was  on  the  new  tack  first 
of  the  two. 

"Ay,  my  lass,"  said  the  old  boatman,  "you  are  smartly 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  331 

handled,  no  doubt,  but  your  square  stern  and  your  try-hang- 
lar  sail  they  will  take  you  to  leeward  of  us  pretty  soon,  do 
what  you  can." 

The  event  seemed  to  justify  this  assertion  ;  the  little  lug- 
ger was  on  her  best  point  of  sailing,  and  in  about  ten  min- 
utes the  distance  between  the  two  boats  was  slightly  but 
sensibly  diminished.  The  lateen,  no  doubt,  observed  this, 
for  she  began  to  play  the  game  of  short  tacks,  and  hoisted 
her  mainsail,  and  carried  on  till  she  seemed  to  sail  on  her 
beam-ends,  to  make  up,  as  far  as  possible,  by  speed  and 
smartness  for  what  she  lost  by  rig  in  beating  to  windward. 

"  They  go  about  quicker  than  we  do,"  said  Talboys. 

"  Of  course  they  do ;  they  have  not  got  to  dip  their  sail, 
as  we  have,  every  time  we  tack." 

This  was  the  true  solution,  but  Mr.  Talboys  did  not  ac- 
cept it. 

"  We  are  not  so  smart  as  we  ought  to  be.  Now  you  go 
to  the  helm,  and  I  and  the  boy  will  dip  the  lug." 

The  old  boatman  took  the  helm  as  requested,  and  gave 
the  word  of  command  to  Mr.  Talboys.  "  Stand  by  the  fore- 
tack." 

"  Yes,"  said  Talboys,  "  here  I  am." 

"  Let  go  the  fore-tack ;"  and,  contemporaneously  with  the 
order,  he  brought  the  boat's  head  round. 

Now  this  operation  is  always  a  nice  one,  particularly  in 
these  small  luggers,  where  the  lug  has  to  be  dipped,  that  is 
to  say,  lowered,  and  raised  again  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
mast ;  for  the  lug  should  not  be  lowered  a  moment  too  soon, 
or  the  boat,  losing  her  way,  would  not  come  round ;  nor  a 
moment  too  late,  lest  the  sail,  owing  to  the  new  position  the 
boat  is  taking  under  the  influence  of  the  rudder,  should  re- 
ceive the  wind  while  between  the  wind  and  the  mast,  and 
so  the  craft  be  taken  aback,  than  which  nothing  can  well 
happen  more  disastrous. 

Mr.  Talboys,  though  not  the  accomplished  sailor  he 
thought  himself,  knew  this  as  well  as  any  body,  and  with 
the  boy's  help  he  lowered  the  sail  at  the  right  moment; 


332         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

but,  getting  his  head  awkwardly  in  the  way,  the  yard,  in 
coming  down,  hit  him  on  the  nose,  and  nearly  knocked  him 
on  to  his  beam-ends.  It  would  have  been  better  if  it  had 
done  so  quite,  instead  of  bounding  off  his  nose  on  to  his 
shoulder  and  there  resting ;  for,  as  it  was,  the  descent  of 
the  sail  being  thus  arrested  halfway  at  the  critical  moment, 
and  the  boat's  head  coming  round  all  the  same,  a  gust  of 
wind  caught  the  sail  and  wrapped  it  tight  round  the  mast 
to  windward.  The  boy  uttered  a  cry  of  terror  so  significant 
that  Lucy  trembled  all  over,  and  by  an  uncontrollable  im- 
pulse leaned  despairingly  back  and  waved  her  white  hand- 
kerchief toward  the  antagonist  boat.  The  old  boatman, 
with  an  oath,  darted  forward  with  an  agility  he  could  not 
have  shown  ashore. 

The  effect  on  the  craft  was  alarming.  If  the  whole  sail 
had  been  thus  taken  aback,  she  would  have  gone  down  like 
lead ;  for,  as  it  was,  she  was  driven  on  her  side,  and  at  the 
same  time  driven  back  by  the  stern ;  the  whole  sea  seemed 
to  rise  an  inch  above  her  gunwale ;  the  water  poured  into 
her  at  every  drive  the  gusts  of  wind  gave  her,  and  the  only 
wonder  seemed  why  the  waves  did  not  run  clean  over  her. 

In  vain  the  old  boatman,  cursing  and  swearing,  tugged 
at  the  canvas  to  free  it  from  the  mast.  It  was  wrapped 
round  it  like  Dejanira's  shirt,  and  with  as  fatal  an  effect ; 
the  boat  was  filling ;  and  as  this  brought  her  lower  in  the 
water,  and  robbed  her  of  much  of  her  buoyancy,  and  as  the 
fatal  cause  continued  immovable,  her  destruction  was  cer- 
tain. 

Every  cheek  was  blanched  with  fear  but  Lucy's,  and  hers 
was  red  as  fire  ever  since  she  waved  her  handkerchief:  so 
powerful  is  modesty  with  her  sex.  A  true  virgin  can  blush 
in  death's  very  grasp. 

In  the  midst  of  this  agitation  and  terror  suddenly  the 
boat  was  hailed.  They  all  looked  up,  and  there  was  the 
lateen  coming  tearing  down  on  them  under  all  her  canvas, 
both  her  broad  sails  spread  out  to  the  full,  one  on  each 
side :  she  seemed  all  monstrous  wing.  The  lugger  being 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         333 

now  nearly  head  to  wind,  she  came  flying  down  on  "her 
weather  bow  as  if  to  run  past  her,  then,  lowering  her  fore- 
sail, made  a  broad  sweep,  and  brought  up  suddenly  between 
the  lugger  and  the  wind.  As  her  foresail  fell,  a  sailor 
bounded  over  it  on  to  the  forecastle,  and  stood  there  with 
one  foot  on  the  gunwale,  active  as  Mercury,  eye  glowing, 
and  a  rope  in  his  hand. 

"  Stand  by  to  lower  your  mast,"  roared  this  sailor  in  a 
voice  of  thunder  to  the  boatman  of  the  lugger;  and  the  mo- 
ment the  schooner  came  up  into  the  wind  athwart  the  lug- 
ger's bows,  he  bounded  over  ten  feet  of  water  into  her,  and 
with  a  turn  of  the  hand  made  the  rope  fast  to  her  thwart, 
then  hauling  upon  it,  brought  her  alongside  with  her  head 
literally  under  the  schooner's  wing. 

He  and  the  old  boatman  then  instantly  unstepped  the 
mast  and  laid  it  down  in  the  boat,  sail  and  all.  It  was  not 
his  great  strength  that  enabled  them  to  do  this  (a  dozen  of 
him  could  not  have  done  it  while  the  wind  pressed  on  the 
mast) ;  it  was  his  address  in  taking  all  the  wind  out  of  the 
lug  by  means  of  the  schooner's  mainsail.  The  old  man  nev- 
er said  a  word  till  the  work  was  done ;  then  he  remarked, 
"  That  was  clever  of  you." 

The  new-comer  took  no  notice  whatever.  "  Reef  that 
$ail,  Jack,"  he  cried ;  "  it  will  be  in  the  lady's  face  by-and- 
by ;  and  heave  your  baler  in  here ;  their  boat  is  full  of 
water." 

"Not  so  full  as  it  would  if  you  hadn't  brought  up  along- 
side," said  the  old  boatman. 

"  Do  you  want  to  frighten  the  lady  ?"  replied  the  sailor, 
in  his  dryest  and  least  courtier-like  way. 

"  I  am  not  frightened,  Mr.  Dodd,"  said  Lucy :  "  I  was, 
but  I  am  not  now." 

"  Come  and  help  me  get  the  water  out  of  her,  Jack. 
Stay !  Miss  Fountain  had  better  step  into  the  dry  boat 
meantime.  Now,  Jack,  look  alive ;  lash  her  alongside  aft." 

This  done,  the  two  sailors,  one  standing  on  the  lugger's 
gunwale^  one  on  the  schooner's,  handed  Miss  Fountain  into 


334  LOVE  ME  1WTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

the  schooner,  and  gave  her  the  cushions  out  of  the  lugger 
to  sit  upon.  They  then  went  to  work  with  a  will,  and 
baled  half  a  ton  of  water  out. 

When  she  was  dry  David  jumped  back  into  his  own  boat. 
"  Now,  Miss  Fountain,  your  boat  is  dry,  but  the  sea  is  get- 
ting up,  and  I  think,  if  I  were  you,  I  would  stay  where  you 
are." 

"I  mean  to,"  said  the  lady,  calmly.  "Mr.  Talboys, 
would  you  mind  coming  into  this  boat?  We  shall  be  safer 
here;  it — it  is  larger." 

The  gentleman  thus  addressed  was  embarrassed  between 
two  mortifications,  one  one  ach  side  of  him.  If  he  came 
into  David's  boat  he  would  be  second  fiddle,  he  who  had 
gone  out  of  port  first  fiddle.  If  he  stuck  to  the  lugger 
Lucy  would  go  off  with  Dodd,  and  he  would  look  like  a 
fool  coming  ashore  without  her.  He  hesitated. 

David  got  impatient.  "  Come,  sir,"  he  cried,  "  don't  you 
hear  the  lady  invite  you  ?  and  every  moment  is  precious." 
And  he  held  out  his  hand  to  him. 

Talboys  decided  on  taking  it,  and  he  even  unbent  so  far 
as  to  jump  vigorously — so  vigorously  that,  David  pulling 
him  with  force  at  the  same  moment,  he  came  flying  into 
the  schooner  like  a  cannon  ball,  and,  toppling  over  on  his 
heels,  went  down  on  the  seat  with  his  head  resting  on  the 
weather  gunwale,  and  his  legs  at  a  right  angle  with  his  back. 

"  That  is  one  way  of  boarding  a  craft,"  muttered  David, 
a  little  discontentedly ;  then  to  the  old  boatman,  "  Here  fling 
us  that  tarpauling.  I  say  here  is  more  wind  coming ;  are 
you  sure  you  can  work  that  lugger,  you  two  ?" 

"  We  will  be  ashore  before  you  can,  now  there's  nobody 
to  bother  us,"  was  the  prompt  reply. 

"Then  cast  loose:  here  we  are,  drifting  out  to  sea." 

The  old  man  cast  the  rope  loose;  David  hauled  it  on 
board,  and  the  schooner  shot  away  from  her  companion 
and  bore  up  north-northwest,  leaving  the  lugger  rocking 
from  side  to  side  on  the  rising  waves.  But  the  next  minute 
Lucy  saw  her  sail  rise,  and  she  bore  up  and  stood  northeast. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  335 

"  Good-by  to  you,  little  horror,"  said  Lucy. 

"  We  shall  fall  in  with  her  a  good  many  times  more  be- 
fore we  make  the  land,"  said  David  Dodd. 

Lucy  inquired  what  he  meant ;  but  he  had  fallen  to  haul- 
ing the  sheet  aft  and  making  the  sail  stand  flatter,  and  did 
not  answer  her.  Indeed,  he  seemed  much  more  taken  up 
with  Jack  than  with  her,  and,  above  all,  entirely  absorbed 
in  the  business  of  sailing  the  boat. 

She  was  a  little  mortified  at  this  behavior,  and  held  her 
tongue.  Talboys  was  sulky,  and  held  his.  It  was  a  curi- 
ous situation.  In  the  hurry  and  bustle,  none  of  the  parties 
had  realized  it ;  but  now,  as  the  boat  breasted  the  waves, 
and  all  was  silent  on  board,  they  had  time  to  review  their 
position. 

Talboys  grew  gloomier  and  gloomier  at  the  poor  figure 
he  cut.  Lucy  kept  blushing  at  intervals  as  she  reflected  on 
the  obligation  she  had  laid  herself  under  to  a  rejected  lover. 
The  rejected  lover  alone  seemed  to  mind  his  business  and 
nothing  else ;  and,  as  he  was  almost  ludicrously  unconscious 
that  he  was  doing  a  chivalrous  action,  a  misfortune  to  which 
those  who  do  these  things  are  singularly  liable,  he  did  not 
gild  the  transaction  with  a  single  graceful  speech,  and  per- 
mitted himself  to  be  more  occupied  with  the  sails  than  with 
rescued  beauty. 

Succeeding  events,  however,  explained,  and  in  some  de- 
gree excused  this  commonplace  behavior. 

The  next  time  they  tacked  some  spray  came  flying  in,  and 
wetted  all  hands.  Lucy  laughed.  The  lugger  had  also 
tacked,  and  the  two  boats  were  now  standing  toward  each 
other ;  when  they  met,  the  lugger  had  weathered  on  them 
some  sixty  or  seventy  yards. 

A  furious  rain  now  came  on  almost  horizontally,  and  the 
sailors  arranged  the  tarpaulin  so  as  to  protect  Mr.  Talboys 
and  Miss  Fountain. 

"But  you  will  be  wet  through  yourself,  Mr.  Dodd. 
Will  you  not  come  under  shelter  too  ?" 

"  And  who  is  to  sail  the  boat  ?"     He  added,  "  I  am  glad 


836         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

to  see  the  rain.  I  hope  it  will  still  the  wind ;  if  it  doesn't, 
we  shall  have  to  try  something  else,  that  is  all." 

"Pray,  when  do  you  undertake  to  land  us,  Mr.  Dodd?" 
inquired  Mr.  Talboys,  superciliously. 

"Well,  sir,  if  it  does  not  blow  any  harder,  about  eight 
bells." 

"  Eight  bells  1  Why  that  means  midnight,"  exclaimed 
Talboys. 

"  Wind  and  tide  both  dead  against  us,"  replied  David, 
coolly. 

"  Oh !  Mr.  Dodd,  tell  me  the  truth :  is  there  any  danger  ?" 

"  Danger  ?  not  that  I  see ;  but  it  is  very  uncomfortable, 
and  unbecoming,  for  you  to  be  beating  to  windward  against 
the  tide  for  so  many  hours,  when  you  ought  to  be  sitting  on 
the  sofa  at  home.  However,  next  time  you  run  out  of 
port,  I  hope  those  that  take  charge  of  you  will  look  to  the 
almanac  for  the  tide,  and  look  to  windward  for  the  weather. 
Jack,  the  lugger  lies  nearer  the  wind  than  we  do." 

"  A  little,  sir." 

"Will  you  take  the  helm  a  minute,  Mr.  Talboys?  and 
you  come  forward  and  unbend  this."  The  two  sailors  put 
their  heads  together  amidships,  and  spoke  in  an  under  tone. 
"  The  wind  is  rising  with  the  rain  instead  of  falling." 

"  Seems  so,  sir." 

"What  do  you  think  yourself?" 

"Well,  sir,  it  has  been  blowing  harder  and  harder  ever 
since  we  came  out,  and  very  steady." 

"  It  will  turn  out  one  of  those  dry  noreasters,  Jack." 

"I  shouldn't  wonder,  sir.  I  wish  she  was  cutter-rigged, 
sir.  A  boat  has  no  business  to  be  any  other  rig  but  cutter: 
there  ought  to  be  a  nact  o'  parliam't  against  these  outland- 
ish rigs." 

"  I  don't  know :  I  have  seen  wonders  done  with  this  la- 
teen rig  in  the  Pacific." 

"  The  lugger  forercaches  on  us,  sir." 

"A  little;  but,  for  all  that,  I  am  glad  she  is  on  board 
our  craft :  we  have  got  more  beam,  and,  if  it  comes  to  the 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOYE  ME  LONG.         337 

worst,  we  can  run.     The  lugger  can't  with  her  sharp  stern. 
I'll  go  to  the  helm." 

Just  as  David  was  stepping  aft  to  take  the  helm,  a  wave 
struck  the  boat  hard  on  the  weather  bow,  close  to  the  gun- 
wale, and  sent  a  bucket  of  salt  water  flying  all  over  him : 
he  never  turned  his  head  even — took  no  more  notice  of  it 
than  a  rock  does  when  the  sea  spits  at  it.  Lucy  shrieked 
and  crouched  behind  the  tarpaulin.  David  took  the  helm, 
and,  seeing  Talboys  white,  said  kindly,  "  Why  don't  you  go 
forward,  sir,  and  make  yourself  snug  under  the  folksel  deck? 
she  is  sure  to  wet  us  abaft  before  we  can  make  the  land." 

No.  Talboys  resisted  his  inclination  and  the  deadly 
nausea  that  was  creeping  over  him. 

"  Thank  you,  but  I  like  to  see  what  is  going  on ;  and" 
(with  an  heroic  attempt  at  sea-slang),  "I  like  a  wet  boat." 

They  now  fell  in  with  the  lugger  again  lying  on  the  op- 
posite tack,  and  a  hundred  yards  at  least  to  windward. 

Just  before  they  crossed  her  wake  David  sang  out  to 
Jack, 

"  Our  masts — are  they  sound?" 

"Bran-new,  sir;  best  Norway  pine." 

"What  d'ye  think?" 

"  Think  we  are  wasting  time  and  daylight." 

"Then  stand  by  the  main  sheet." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Slack  the  main  sheet." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir."  « 

The  boat  instantly  fell  off  into  the  wind,  and,  as  she 
went  round,  David  stood  up  in  the  stern  sheets  and  waved 
his  cap  to  the  men  on  board  the  lugger,  who  were  watch- 
ing him.  The  old  man  was  seen  to  shake  his  head  in  an- 
swer to  the  signal,  and  point  to  his  lug-sail  standing  flat  as 
a  board,  and  the  next  moment  they  parted  company,  and 
the  lateen  was  running  close-reefed  before  the  wind. 

Mr.  Talboys  was  sitting  collapsed  in  the  lethargy  that 
precedes  sea-sickness.  He  started  up.  "  What  are  you  do- 
ing f  he  shrieked. 

P 


338         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"Keep  quiet,  sir,  and  don't  bother,"  said  David,  with 
calm  sternness,  and  in  his  deepest  tones. 

"Pray  don't  interfere  with  Mr. Dodd,"  said  Lucy;  "he 
must  know  best." 

"  You  don't  see  what  he  is  doing,  then,"  cried  Talboys, 
wildly ;  "  the  madman  is  taking  us  out  to  sea." 

"Are  you  taking  us  out  to  sea,  Mr.  Dodd?"  inquired 
Lucy,  with  dismay. 

"  I  am  doing  according  to  my  judgment  of  tide  and  wind, 
and  the  abilities  of  the  craft  I  am  sailing,"  said  David,  firm- 
ly ;  "  and  on  board  my  own  craft  I  am  skipper,  and  skip- 
per I  will  be.  Go  forward,  sir,  if  you  please,  and  don't 
speak  except  to  obey  orders." 

Mr.  Talboys,  sick,  despondent,  and  sulky,  went  gloomily 
forward,  coiled  himself  up  under  the  forecastle  deck,  and 
was  silent  and  motionless. 

"  Don't  send  me,"  cried  Lucy,  "  for  I  will  not  go.  Noth- 
ing but  your  eye  keeps  up  my  courage.  I  don't  mind  the 
water,"  added  she,  hastily  and  a  little  timidly,  anxious  to 
meet  every  reason  that  could  be  urged  for  imprisoning  her 
in  the  forecastle  hold. 

"You  are  all  right  where  you  are,  miss,"  said  Jack, 
cheerfully ;  "  we  sha'n't  have  no  more  spray  come  aboard 
us :  it  won't  come  in  by  the  cupful  if  it  doesn't  come  by  the 
ton." 

"  Will  you  belay  your  jaw  ?"  roared  David,  in  a  fury  that 
Lucy  did  not  comprehend  at  the  time.  "  What  a  set  of 
tarnation  babblers  in  one  little  boat." 

"  I  won't  speak  any  more,  Mr.  Dodd ;  I  won't  speak." 

"Bless  your  heart,  it  isn't  you  I  meant.  'Twould  be 
hard  if  a  lady  might  not  put  her  word  in.  But  a  man  is 
different.  I  do  love  to  see  a  man  belay  his  jaw,  and  wait 
for  orders,  and  then  do  his  duty:  hoist  the  mainsel, 
you !" 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"  Shake  out  a  couple  of  reefs." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  339 

And  the  lateen  spread  both  her  great  wings  like  an  alba- 
tross, and  leaped  and  plunged,  and  flew  before  the  mighty 
gale. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

"  THIS  is  nice.  The  boat  does  not  upset  or  tumble  as  it 
did :  it  only  courtesies  and  plunges.  I  like  it." 

"  The  sea  has  not  got  up  yet,  miss,"  said  Jack. 

"  Hasn't  it  ?  the  waves  seem  very  large." 

"  Lord  love  you,  wait  till  we  have  had  four  or  five  hours 
more  of  this." 

"Belay  your  jaw,  Jack." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"  Why  so,  Mr.  Dodd  ?"  objected  Lucy,  gently.  "  I  am 
not  so  weak  as  you  think  me.  Do  not  keep  the  truth  from 
me.  I  share  the  danger ;  let  me  share  the  sense  of  danger 
too.  You  shall  not  blush  for  me." 

"Danger?  there  is  not  a  grain  of  it,  unless  we  make 
danger  by  inattention — and  babbling." 

"You  will  not  do  that,"  said  Lucy. 

Equivoque  missed  fire. 

"  Not  while  you  are  on  board,"  replied  David,  simply. 

Lucy  felt  inclined  to  give  him  her  hand.  She  had  it  out 
half  way ;  but  he  had  lately  asked  her  to  marry  him,  so  she 
drew  it  back,  and  her  eyes  rested  on  the  bottom  of  the 
boat. 

The  wind  rose  higher.  The  masts  bent  so  that  each 
sail  had  every  possible  reef  taken  in.  Her  canvas  thus  re- 
duced, she  scudded  as  fast  as  before,  such  was  now  the  fury 
of  the  gale.  The  sea  rose  so  that  the  boat  seemed  to  mount 
with  each  wave  as  high  as  the  second  story  of  a  house,  and 
go  down  again  to  the  cellar  at  every  plunge.  Talboys, 
prostrated  by  sea-sickness  in  the  fore  hold,  lay  curled  but 
motionless,  like  a  crooked  log,  and  almost  as  indifferent  to 
life  or  death.  Lucy,  pale  but  firm,  put  no  more  questions 


340   .      LOYE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

that  she  felt  would  not  be  answered,  but  scanned  David 
Dodd's  face  furtively  yet  closely.  The  result  was  encour- 
aging to  her.  His  cheek  was  not  pale,  as  she  felt  her  own : 
on  the  contrary,  it  was  slightly  flushed ;  his  eye  bright  and 
watchful,  but  lion-like.  He  gave  a  word  or  two  of  com- 
mand to  Jack  every  now  and  then  very  sharply,  but  with- 
out the  slightest  shade  of  agitation,  and  Jack's  "  ay,  ay" 
came  back  as  sharply,  but  cheerfully. 

The  principal  feature  she  discerned  in  both  sailors  was  a 
very  attentive,  business-like  manner.  The  romantic  air 
with  which  heroes  face  danger  in  story  was  entirely  absent ; 
and  so,  being  convinced  by  his  yarns  that  David  was  a  hero, 
she  inferred  that  their  situation  could  not  be  dangerous,  but, 
as  David  himself  had  inferred,  merely  one  in  which  watch- 
fulness was  requisite. 

The  sun  went  down  red  and  angiy.  The  night  came  on 
dark  and  howling.  No  moon.  A  murky  sky,  like  a  black 
bellying  curtain  above,  and  huge  ebony  waves,  that  in  the 
appalling  blackness  seemed  all  crested  with  devouring  fire, 
hemmed  in  the  tossing  boat,  and  growled,  and  snarled,  and 
raged  above,  below,  and  around  her. 

Then,  in  that  awful  hour,  Lucy  Fountain  felt  her  little- 
ness and  the  littleness  of  man.  She  cowered  and  trembled. 

The  sailors,  rough  but  tender  nurses,  wrapped  shawls 
round  her  one  above  the  other,  "to  make  her  snug  for  the 
night,"  they  said.  They  seemed  to  her  to  be  mocking  her. 
"  Snug  ?  Who  could  hope  to  outlive  such  a  fearful  night  ? 
and  what  did  it  matter  whether  she  was  drowned  in  one 
shawl  or  a  dozen  ?" 

David  being  amidships,  baling  the  boat  out,  and  Jack  at 
the  helm,  she  took  the  opportunity,  and  got  very  close  to 
the  latter,  and  said  in  his  ear, 

"  Mr.  Jack,  we  are  in  danger." 

"  Not  exactly  in  danger,  miss ;  but,  of  course,  we  must 
mind  our  eye.  But  I  have  often  been  where  I  have  had 
to  mind  my  eye,  and  hope  to  be  again." 


IX) VE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  341 

"  Mr.  Jack,"  said  Lucy,  shivering,  "  what  is  our  danger  1 
Tell  me  the  nature  of  it,  then  I  shall  not  be  so  cowardly : 
will  the  boat  break  ?" 

"  Lord  bless  you,  no." 

"  Will  it  upset  ?" 

"No  fear  of  that." 

"Will  not  the  sea  swallow  us?" 

"No,  miss.  How  can  the  sea  swallow  us?  She  rides 
like  a  cork,  and  there  is  the  skipper  baling  her  out,  to  make 
her  lighter  still.  No ;  I'll  tell  you,  miss  ;  all  we  have  got 
to  mind  is  two  things :  we  must  not  let  her  broach-to,  and 
we  must  not  get  pooped." 

"But  why  must  we  not?" 

"  Why?     Because  we  imistri't" 

"  But  I  mean,  what  would  be  the  consequence  of — broach- 
ing-to?" 

Jack  opened  his  eyes  in  astonishment.  "  Why,  the  sea 
would  run  over  her  quarter,  and  swamp  her." 

"  Oh  ! !     And  if  we  get  pooped  ?" 

"  We  shall  go  to  Davy  Jones,  like  a  bullet." 

"  Who  is  Davy  Jones  ?" 

"The  Old  One,  you  know — down  below.  Leastways 
you  won't  go  there,  miss;  you  will  go  aloft,  and  perhaps 
the  skipper ;  but  Davy  will  have  me ;  so  I  won't  give  him  a 
chance,  if  I  can  help  it." 

Lucy  cried. 

"  Where  are  we,  Mr.  Jack  ?" 

"  British  Channel." 

"  I  know  that ;  but  whereabouts  ?" 

"  Heaven  knows ;  and  no  doubt  the  skipper,  he  knows  ; 
but  I  don't.  I  am  only  a  common  sailor.  Shall  I  hail  the 
skipper?  he  will  tell  you." 

"  No,  no,  no.     He  is  so  angry  if  we  speak." 

"  He  won't  be  angry  if  you  speak  to  him,  miss,"  said  Jack, 
with  a  sly  grin,  that  brought  a  faint  color  into  Lucy's  cheek ; 
"you  should  have  seen  him,  how  anxious  he  was  about  you 


342  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME  LONG. 

before  we  came  alongside;  and  the  moment  that  lubber 
went  forward  to  dip  the  lug,  says  he, '  Jack,  there  will  be 
mischief;  up  mainsel  and  run  down  to  them.  I  have  no 
confidence  in  that  tall  boy.'  (He  do  seem  a  long,  \veedy, 
useless  sort  of  lubber.)  Lord  bless  you,  miss,  we  luffed,  and 
were  running  down  to  you  long  before  you  made  the  signal 
of  distress  with  your  little  white  flag."  Lucy's  cheeks  got 
redder.  "No,  miss,  if  the  skipper  speaks  severe  to  you, 
Jack  Painter  is  blind  with  one  eye,  and  can't  see  with 
t'other." 

Lucy's  cheeks  were  carnation. 

But  the  next  moment  they  were  white,  for  a  terrible 
event  interrupted  this  chat :  two  huge  waves  rolled  one  be- 
hind the  other,  an  occurrence  which  luckily  is  not  frequent ; 
the  boat,  descending  into  the  valley  of  the  sea,  had  the  wind 
taken  out  of  her  sails  by  the  high  wave  that  was  coming ; 
her  sails  flapped,  she  lost  her  speed,  and  as  she  rose  again, 
the  second  wave  was  a  moment  too  quick  for  her,  and  its 
combing  crest  caught  her.  The  first  thing  Lucy  saw  was 
Jack  running  from  the  helm  with  a  loud  cry  of  fear,  fol- 
lowed by  what  looked  an  arch  of  fire,  but  sounded  like  a 
lion  rushing,  growling  on  its  prey,  and  directly  her  feet  and 
ankles  were  in  a  pool  of  water.  David  bounded  aft,  swear- 
ing and  splashing  through  it,  and  it  turned  into  sparks  of 
white  fire  flying  this  way  and  that :  he  seized  the  helm,  and 
discharged  a  loud  volley  of  curses  at  Jack. 

"  Fling  out  ballast,  ye  d — d  cowardly,  useless  lubber," 
cried  he ;  and  while  Jack,  who  had  recoiled  into  his  nor- 
mal state  of  nerves  with  almost  ridiculous  rapidity,  was 
heaving  out  ballast,  David  discharged  another  rolling  volley 
at  him. 

"  Oh,  pray  don't !"  cried  Lucy,  trembling  like  aft  aspen- 
leaf.  "  Oh  think !  we  shall  soon  be  in  the  presence  of  our 
Maker — of  him  whose  name  you — " 

"  Not  we,"  cried  David,  with  broad,  cheerful  incredulity ; 
"we  have  lots  more  mischief  to  do — that  lubber  and  I. 
And  if  he  thinks  he  is  going  there,  let  him  end  like  a  man, 


LOVE   MB   LITTLE,  LOVB   ME   LONG.  348 

not  like  a  skulking  lubber,  running  from  the  helm,  and  let- 
ting the  craft  come  up  in  the  wind." 

"  No,  no,  it  was  the  sea  he  ran  from.     Who  would  not  1" 

"  The  lubber !  If  it  had  been  a  tiger  or  a  bear  I'd  say 
nothing ;  but  what  is  the  use  of  trying  to  run  from  the  sea  ? 
Should  have  stuck  to  his  post,  and  set  that  thundering  back 
of  his  up — it's  broad  enough — and  kept  the  sea  out  of  your 
boots.  The  sea,  indeed !  I  have  seen  the  sea  come  on 
board  me,  and  clear  the  deck  fore  and  aft,  but  it  didn't 
come  in  the  shape  of  a  cupful  o'  water  and  a  spoonful  o' 
foam."  Here  David's  wrath  and  contempt  were  interrupt- 
ed by  Jack  singing  waggishly  at  his  work, 

"  Cease — rude  Boreas — blustering — rail-er ! !" 
At  which  sly  hit  David  was  pleased,  and  burst  into  a  loud, 
boisterous  4augh. 

Lucy  put  her  hands  to  her  ears.  "Oh  don't!  don't! 
this  is  worse  than  your  blasphemies — laughing  on  the  brink 
of  eternity  ;  these  are  not  men — they  are  devils." 

"  Do  you  hear  that,  Jack  ?  Come,  you  behave !"  roar- 
ed David. 

A  faint  snarl  from  Talboys.  The  water  had  penetrated 
him,  and  roused  him  from  a  state  of  sick  torpor :  he  lay  in 
a  tidy  little  pool  some  eight  inches  deep. 

The  boat  was  baled  and  lightened,  but  Lucy's  fears  were 
not  set  at  rest.  What  was  to  hinder  the  recurrence  of  the 
same  danger,  and  with  more  fatal  effect?  She  timidly  ask- 
ed David's  permission  to  let  her  keep  the  sea  out.  Instead 
of  snubbing  her  as  she  expected,  David  consented  with  a 
sort  of  paternal  benevolence  tinged  with  incredulity.  She 
then  developed  her  plan:  it  was,  that  David,  Jack,  and' 
she  should  sit  in  a  triangle,  and  hold  the  tarpaulin  out  to 
windward,  and  fence  the  ocean  out.  Jack,  being  summon- 
ed aft  to  council,  burst  into  a  hoarse  laugh ;  but  David 
checked  him. 

"  There  is  more  in  it  than  you  see,  Jack — more  than  she 
sees,  perhaps.  My  only  doubt  is  whether  it  is  possible: 
but  you  can  try." 


344         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Lucy  and  Jack  then  tried  to  get  the  tarpaulin  out  to 
windward ;  instead  of  which,  it  carried  them  to  leeward 
by  the  force  of  the  wind.  The  mast  brought  them  up,  or 
heaven  knows  where  their  new  invention  would  have  taken 
them.  With  infinite  difficulty  they  got  it  down  and  kneel- 
ed upon  it,  and  even  then  it  struggled.  But  Lucy  would 
not  be  defeated ;  she  made  Jack  gather  it  up"  in  the  middle, 
and  roll  it  first  to  the  right,  then  to  the  left,  till  it  became  a 
solid  roll  with  two  narrow  open  edges.  They  then  carried 
it  abaft,  and  lowered  it  vertically  over  the  stem-port ;  then 
suddenly  turned  it  round,  and  sat  down.  "Crack!"  the 
wind  opened  it,  and  wrapped  it  round  the  boat  and  the  trio. 

"Hallo!"  cried  David,  "it  is  foul  of  the  rudder;"  and 
he  whipped  out  his  knife  and  made  a  slit  in  the  stuff.  It 
now  clung  like  a  blister. 

"  There,  Mr.  Dodd,  will  not  that  keep  the  sea  out  ?" 
asked  Lucy,  triumphantly. 

"  At  any  rate,  it  may  help  to  keep  us  ahead  of  the  sea. 
"Why,  Jack,  I  seem  to  feel  it  lift  her;  it  is  as  good  as  a 
mizen." 

"  But  oh !  Mr.  Dodd,  there  is  another  danger.  We  may 
broach-to." 

"  How  can  she  broach-to  when  I  am  at  the  helm  ?  Hero 
is  the  arm  that  won't  let  her  broach-to." 

"Then  I  feel  safe." 

"  You  are  as  safe  as  on  your  own  sofa ;  it  is  the  discom- 
fort you  are  put  to  that  worries  me." 

"  Don't  think  so  meanly  of  me,  Mr.  Dodd.  If  it  was  not 
for  my  cowardice,  I  should  enjoy  this  voyage  far  more  than 
the  luxurious  ease  you  think  so  dear  to  me.  I  despise  it. 

"  Mr.  Dodd,  now  I  am  no  longer  afraid.  I  am,  oh !  go 
Bleepy." 

"  No  wonder — go  to  sleep.  It  is  the  best  thing  you  can 
do." 

"  Thank  you,  sir.  I  am  aware  my  conversation  is  not 
very  interesting."  Having  administered  this  sudden  blood- 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  345 

less  scratch,  to  show  that,  at  sea  or  ashore,  in  fair  weather 
or  foul,  she  retained  her  sex,  Lucy  disposed  herself  to  sleep. 

David,  steering  the  boat  with  his  left  hand,  arranged  the 
cushion  with  his  right.  She  settled  herself  to  sleep,  for  an 
irresistible  drowsiness  had  followed  the  many  hours  of  ex- 
citement she  had  gone  through.  Twice  the  heavy  plung- 
ing sea  brought  her  into  light  contact  with  David.  She  in- 
stantly awoke,  and  apologized  to  him  with  gentle  dismay 
for  taking  so  audacious  a  liberty  with  that  great  man,  com- 
mander of  the  vessel :  the  third  time  she  said  nothing,  a 
sure  sign  she  was  unconscious. 

Then  David,  for  fear  she  might  hurt  herself,  curled  his 
arm  around  her,  and  let  her  head  decline  upon  his  shoulder. 
Her  bonnet  fell  off:  he  put  it  reverently  on  the  other  side 
the  helm.  The  air  now  cleared,  but  the  gale  increased 
rather  than  diminished.  And  now  the  moon  rose  large 
and  bright.  The  boat  and  masts  stood  out  like  white 
stone-work  against  the  flint-colored  sky,  and  the  silver  light 
played  on  Lucy's  face.  There  she  lay,  all  unconscious  of 
her  posture,  on  the  man's  shoulder  who  loved  her,  and 
whom  she  had  refused;  her  head  thrown  back  in  sweet 
helplessness,  her  rich  hair  streaming  over  David's  shoulder, 
her  eyes  closed,  but  the  long,  lovely  lashes  meeting  so  that 
the  double  fringe  was  as  speaking  as  most  eyes,  and  her 
lips  half  open  in  an  innocent  smile.  The  storm  was  no 
storm  to  her  now.  She  slept  the  sleep  of  childhood,  of  in- 
nocence, and  peace ;  and  David  gazed  and  gazed  on  her, 
and  joy  and  tenderness  almost  more  than  human  thrilled 
through  him,  and  the  storm  was  no  storm  to  him  either ; 
he  forgot  the  past,  despised  the  future,  and  in  the  delirium  of 
his  joy  blessed  the  sea  and  the  wind,  and  wished  for  nothing 
but,  instead  of  the  Channel,  a  boundless  ocean,  and  to  sail 
upon  it  thus,  her  bosom  tenderly  grazing  him,  and  her  love- 
ly head  resting  on  his  shoulder,  forever,  and  ever,  and  ever. 

Thus  they  sailed  on  two  hours  and  more,  and  Jack  now 
began  to  nod. 

P2 


346  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

All  of  a  sudden  Lucy  awoke,  and,  opening  her  eyes,  sur- 
prised David  gazing  at  her  with  tenderness  unspeakable. 
Awaking  possessed  with  the  notion  that  she  was  sleeping 
at  home  on  a  bed  of  down,  she  looked  duinbfoundered  an 
instant;  but  David's  eyes  soon  sent  the  blood  into  her 
cheek.  Her  whole  supple  person  turned  eel-like,  and  she 
glided  quickly,  but  not  the  least  brusquely,  from  him ;  the 
latter  might  have  seemed  discourteous. 

"Oh!  Mr.  Dodd,"  she  cried,  "what  am  I  doing?" 

"  You  have  been  getting  a  nice  sleep,  thank  heaven." 

"  Yes,  and  making  use  of  you  even  in  my  sleep ;  but  we 
all  impose  on  your  goodness." 

"  Why  did  you  awake  ?  You  were  happy ;  you  felt  no 
care,  and  I  was  happy  seeing  you  so." 

Lucy's  eyes  filled.  "  Kind,  true  friend,"  she  murmured, 
"  how  can  I  ever  thank  you  as  I  ought  *?  I  little  deserved 
that  you  should  watch  over  my  safety  as  you  have  done, 
and,  alas !  risk  your  own.  Any  other  but  you  would  have 
borne  me  malice,  and  let  me  perish,  and  said,  '  It  serves  her 
right.'  " 

"  Malice !  Miss  Lucy.     What  for,  in  Heaven's  name  ?" 

"  For — for  the  affront  I  put  upon  you ;  for  the — the  honor 
I  declined." 

"  Hate  can  not  lie  alongside  love  in  a  true  heart." 

"I  see  it  can  not  in  a  noble  one.  And  then  you  are  so 
generous.  You  have  never  once  recurred  to  that  unfor- 
tunate topic ;  yet  you  have  gained  a  right  to  request  me — 
to  reconsider — Mr.  Dodd,  you  have  saved  my  life ! !" 

"  What !  do  you  praise  me  because  I  don't  take  a  mean 
advantage?  That  would  not  be  behaving  like  a  man." 

"  I  don't  know  that.  You  overrate  your  sex — and  mine. 
We  don't  deserve  such  generosity.  The  proof  is,  we  reward 
those  who  are  not  so — delicate." 

"  I  don't  trouble  my  head  about  your  sex.  They  are 
nothing  to  me,  and  never  will  be.  If  you  think  I  have 
done  my  duty  like  a  man,  and  as  much  like  a  gentleman  as 
my  homely  education  permits,  that  is  enough  for  me,  and  I 


LOVE    ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  347 

shall  sail  for  China  as  happy  as  any  thing  on  earth  can  make 
me  now." 

Lucy  answered  this  by  crying  gently,  silently,  tenderly. 

"Don't  ye  cry.     Have  I  said  something  to  vex  you?" 

"Oh  no,  no." 

"  Are  you  alarmed  still  ?" 

"  Oh  no ;  I  have  such  faith  in  you." 

"  Then  go  to  sleep  again,  like  a  lamb." 

"  I  will ;  then  I  shall  not  tease  you  with  my  conversa- 
tion." 

"Now  there  is  a  way  to  put  it." 

"  Forgive  me." 

"  That  I  will,  if  you  will  take  some  repose.  There,  I 
will  lash  you  to  my  arm  with  this  handkerchief;  then  you 
can  lie  the  other  way,  and  hold  on  by  the  handkerchief — 
there." 

She  closed  her  eyes  and  fell  apparently  to  sleep,  but  really 
to  thinking. 

Then  David  nudged  Jack,  and  waked  him.  "  Speak  low 
now,  Jack." 

"What  is  it,  sir?" 

"Land  ahead." 

Jack  looked  out,  and  there  was  a  mountain  of  jet  rising 
out  of  the  sea,  and,  to  a  landman's  eye,  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  them. 

"  Is  it  the  French  coast,  sir  ?    I  must  have  been  asleep." 

"French  coast?  no,  Channel  Island — smallest  of  the  lot." 

"Better  give  it  a  wide  berth,  sir.  We  shall  go  smash 
like  a  teacup  if  we  run  on  to  one  of  them  rocky  islands." 

"  Why,  Jack,"  said  David,  reproachfully,  "  am  I  the  man 
to  run  upon  a  lee-shore,  and  such  a  night  as  this  ?" 

"Not  likely.  You  will  keep  her  head  for  Cherbourg  or 
St.  Malo,  sir ;  it  is  our  only  chance." 

"  It  is  not  our  only  chance,  nor  our  best.  We  have  been 
running  a  little  ahead  of  this  gale,  Jack ;  there  is  worse  in 
store  for  us ;  the  sea  is  rolling  mountains  high  on  the 
French  coast  this  morning,  I  know.  We  are  like  enough 


348  LOVE   ME    LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG. 

to  be  pooped  before  we  get  there,  or  swamped  on  some 
harbor-bar  at  last." 

"  Well,  sir,  we  must  take  our  chance." 

"  Take  our  chance  ?  What !  with  heads  on  our  shoulders, 
and  an  angel  on  board  that  heaven  has  given  us  charge  of? 
No,  I  sha'n't  take  my  chance.  I  shall  try  all  I  know,  and 
hang  on  to  life  by  my  eyelids.  Listen  to  me.  '  Knowledge 
is  gold :'  a  little  of  it  goes  a  long  way.  I  don't  know  much 
myself,  but  I  do  know  the  soundings  of  the  British  Channel. 
I  have  made  them  my  study.  On  the  south  side  of  this 
rocky  point  there  is  forty  fathom  water  close  to  the  shore, 
and  good  anchorage-ground." 

"  Then  I  wish  AVC  could  jump  over  the  thundering  island, 
and  drop  on  the  lee  side  of  it ;  but  as  we  can't,  what's  the 
use?" 

"  We  may  be  able  to  round  the  point." 

"  There  will  be  an  awful  sea  running  off  that  point,  sir." 

"  Of  course  there  will.     I  mean  to  try  it,  for  all  that." 

"So  be  it,  sir;  that  is  what  I  like  to  hear.  I  hate  pal- 
aver. Let  one  give  his  orders,  and  the  rest  obey  them.  We 
are  not  above  half  a  mile  from  it  now." 

"  You  had  better  wake  the  landsman.  We  must  have  a 
third  hand  for  this." 

"No,"  said  a  woman's  voice,  sweet,  but  clear  and  un- 
wavering, "  I  shall  be  the  third  hand." 

"Curse  it,"  cried  David,  "she  has  heard  us." 

"  Every  word.  And  I  have  no  confidence  in  Mr.  Tal- 
boys ;  and,  believe  me,  I  am  more  to  be  trusted  than  he  is. 
See,  my  cowardice  is  all  worn  out.  Do  but  trust  me,  and 
you  shall  find  I  want  neither  courage  nor  intelligence." 

David  eyed  her  keenly,  and  full  in  the  face.  She  met  his 
glance  calmly,  with,  her  fine  nostril  slightly  expanding,  and 
her  compressed  lip  curving  proudly. 

"  It  is  all  right,  Jack.  It  is  not  a  flash  in  the  pan.  She 
is  as  steady  as  a  rock."  He  then  addressed  her  rapidly  and 
business-like,  but  with  deference.  "You  will  stand  by  the 
helm  on  this  side,  and  the  moment  I  run  forward,  you  will 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  349 

take  the  helm  and  hold  it  in  this  position.  That  will  re- 
quire all  your  strength.  Come,  try  it.  Well  done." 

"  How  the  sea  struggles  with  me !  But  I  am  strong,  you 
see,"  cried  Lucy,  her  brow  flushed  with  the  battle. 

"  Very  good ;  you  are  strong,  and,  what  is  better,  resolute. 
Now,  observe  me :  this  is  port,  this  is  starboard,  and  this  is 
amidships." 

"  I  see ;  bat  how  am  I  to  know  which  to  do?" 

"  I  shall  give  you  the  word  of  command." 

"  And  all  I  have  to  do  is  to  obey  if?" 

"That  is  all;  but  you  will  find  it  enough,  because  tte 
sea  will  seem  to  fight  with  you.  It  will  shake  the  boat  to 
make  you  leave  go,  and  will  perhaps  dash  in  your  face  to 
make  you  leave  go." 

"Forewarned,  forearmed,  Mr.  Dodd.  I  will  not  let  go. 
I  will  hold  on  by  my  eyelids  sooner  than  add  to  your 
danger." 

"  Jack,  she  is  on  fire ;  she  gives  me  double  heart." 

"  So  she  does  me.     She  makes  it  a  pleasure." 

They  were  now  near  enough  the  point  to  judge  what  they 
had  to  do,  and  the  appearance  of  the  sea  was  truly  terri- 
ble ;  the  waves  were  all  broken,  and  a  surge  of  devouring 
fire  seemed  to  rage  and  roar  round  the  point,  and  oppose  an 
impassable  barrier  between  them  and  the  inky  pool  beyond, 
where  safety  lay  under  the  lee  of  the  high  rocks. 

"  I  don't  like  it,"  said  David.  "  It  looks  to  me  like  go- 
ing through  a  strip  of  hell  fire." 

"But  it  is  narrow,"  said  Lucy. 

"  That  is  our  chance ;  and  the  tide  is  coming  in.  We 
will  try  it.  She  will  drench  us,  but  I  don't  much  think  she 
will  swamp  us.  Are  you  ready,  all  hands?" 

"  Oh !  please  wait  a  minute,  till  I  do  up  my  hair." 

"  Take  a  minute,  but  no  more." 

"  There,  it  is  done.  Mr.  Dodd,  one  word  :  if  all  should 
fail,  and  death  be  inevitable,  tell  me  so  just  before  we  per- 
ish, and  I  shall  have  something  to  say  to  you.  Now  I  am 
ready." 


350  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"Jump  forward,  Jack." 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Stand  by  to  jibe  the  foresail." 

"Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"  See  our  sweeps  all  clear." 

"Ay." 

David  now  handled  the  main  sheet,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  looked  earnestly  at  Lucy,  who  met  his  eye  with  a  look 
of  eager  attention. 

"  Starboai-d  a  little.  That  will  do.  Steady — steady  as 
you  go."  As  the  boat  yielded  to  the  helm,  Jack  gathered 
in  on  the  sheet,  took  two  turns  round  the  cleat,  and  eased 
away  till  the  sail  drew  its  best :  so  far  so  good.  Both  sails 
were  now  on  the  same  side  of  the  boat,  the  wind  on  her 
port  quarter ;  but  now  came  the  dangerous  operation  of 
coming  to  the  wind,  in  a  rough  and  broken  sea,  among  the 
eddies  of  wind  and  tide  so  prevalent  off  headlands.  David, 
with  the  main  sheet  in  his  right  hand,  directed  Lucy  with 
his  left  as  well  as  his  voice. 

"  Starboard  the  helm — starboard  yet — now  meet  her — 
so !"  and,  as  she  rounded  to,  Jack  and  he  kept  hauling  the 
sheets  aft,  and  the  boat,  her  course  and  trim  altered,  darted 
among  the  breakers  like  a  brave  man  attacking  danger. 
After  the  first  plunge  she  went  up  and  down  like  a  pick- 
axe, coming  down  almost  where  she  went  up ;  but  she  held 
her  course,  with  the  waves  roaring  round  her  like  a  pack  of 
hell-hounds. 

More  than  half  the  terrible  strip  was  passed.  "  Star- 
board yet,"  cried  David ;  and  she  headed  toward  the  high 
main  land  under  whose  lee  was  calm  and  safety.  Alas  !  at 
this  moment  a  snorter  of  a  sea  broke  under  her  broadside, 
and  hove  her  to  leeward  like  a  cork,  and  a  tide  eddy  catch- 
ing her  under  the  counter,  she  came  to  more  than  two 
points,  and  her  canvas,  thus  emptied,  shook  enough  to  tear 
the  masts  out  of  her  by  the  board. 

"  Port  your  helm !  PORT !  PORT !"  roared  David,  in 
a  voice  like  the  roar  of  a  wounded  lion  ;  and,  in  his  anxie- 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  351 

ty,  lie  bounded  to  the  helm  himself;  but  Lucy  obeyed  orders 
at  half  a  word,  and  David,  seeing  this,  sprang  forward  to 
help  Jack  flatten  in  the  fore  sheet.  The  boat,  which  all 
through  answered  the  helm  beautifully,  fell  off  the  moment 
Lucy  ported  the  helm,  and  thus  they  escaped  the  impending 
and  terrible  danger  of  her  making  stern-way. 

"  Helm  amidships !"  and  all  drew  again :  the  black  wa- 
ter was  in  sight.  But  will  they  ever  reach  it  ?  She  tosses 
like  a  cork.  Bang!  A  breaker  caught  her  bows,  and 
drenched  David  and  Jack  to  the  very  bone.  She  quivered 
like  an  aspen-leaf,  but  held  on. 

"  Starboard  one  point,"  cried  David,  sitting  down,  and 
lifting  an  oar  out  from  the  boat ;  but  just  as  Lucy,  in  obeying 
the  order,  leaned  a  little  over  the  lee  gunwale  with  the  til- 
ler, a  breaker  broke  like  a  shell  upon  the  boat's  broadside 
abaft,  stove  in  her  upper  plank,  and  filled  her  with  water : 
some  flew  and  slapped  Lucy  in  the  face  like  an  open  hand. 
She  screamed,  but  clung  to  the  gunwale,  and  griped  the 
helm:  her  arm  seemed  iron,  and  her  heart  was  steel. 
While  she  clung  thus  to  her  work,  blinded  by  the  spray, 
and  expecting  death,  she  heard  oars  splash  into  the  water, 
and  mellow  stentorian  voices  burst  out  singing. 

In  amazement  she  turned,  squeezed  the  brine  out  of  her 
eyes,  and  looked  all  round,  and  lo  !  the  boat  was  in  a  tri- 
fling bobble  of  a  sea,  and  close  astern  was  the  surge  of  fire 
raging,  and  growling,  and  blazing  in  vain,  and  the  two  sail- 
ors were  pulling  the  boat,  with  superhuman  strength  and 
inspiration,  into  a  monster  mill-pool  that  now  lay  right 
ahead,  black  as  ink  and  smooth  as  oil,  singing  loudly  as  they 
rowed : 

"  Cheerily  oh  oh !  (pull)  cheerily  oh  oh  !  (pull) 
To  port  we  go  oh  (pull),  to  port  we  go  (pull)." 

FLARE ! !  a  great  flaming  eye  opened  on  them  in  the 

centre  of  the  universal  blackness. 

"Look!  look!"  cried  Lucy;  " a  fire  in  the  mountain." 
It  was  the  lantern  of  a  French  sloop  anchored  close  to 

the  shore.     The  crew  had  heard  the  sailors'  voices.     At 


352         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

sight  of  it,  David  and  Jack  cheered  so  lustily  that  Talboys 
crawled  out  of  the  water  and  glared  vaguely.  The  sailors 
pulled  under  the  sloop's  lee  quarter ;  a  couple  of  ropes  were 
instantly  lowered,  the  lantern  held  aloft,  ruby  heads  and 
hands  clustered  at  the  gangway,  and  in  another  minute  the 
boat's  party  were  all  upon  deck,  under  a  hail-storm  of 
French,  and  the  boat  fast  to  her  stern. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

THE  skipper  of  the  sloop,  hearing  a  commotion  on  deck, 
came  up,  and,  taking  off  his  cap,  made  Lucy  a  bow  in  a 
style  remote  from  an  English  sailor's :  she  courtesied  to 
him,  and,  to  his  surprise,  addressed  him  in  Parisian  French. 
When  he  learned  she  was  from  England,  and  had  rounded 
that  point  in  an  open  boat,  he  was  astonished. 

"  Diables  d' Anglais !"  said  he. 

The  good-natured  Frenchman  insisted  on  Lucy  taking 
sole  possession  of  his  cabin,  in  which  was  a  cheerful  stove. 
His  crew  were  just  as  kind  to  David,  Jack,  and  Talboys. 
This  latter  now  resumed  his  right  place — at  the  head  of 
mankind ;  being  the  only  one  who  could  talk  French,  he 
interpreted  for  his  companions.  He  improved  upon  my 
narrative  in  one  particular:  he  led  the  Frenchmen  to  sup- 
pose it  was  he  who  had  sailed  the  boat  from  England,  and 
weathered  the  point.  Who  can  blame  him  ? 

Dry  clothes  were  found  them,  and  grog  and  beef. 

While  employed  on  the  victuals,  a  little  Anglo-Frank, 
aged  ten,  suddenly  rolled  out  of  a  hammock  and  offered  aid 
in  the  sweet  accents  of  their  native  tongue.  The  sound  of 
the  knives  and  forks  had  woke  the  urchin  out  of  a  deep 
sleep.  David  filled  the  hybrid,  and  then  sent  him  to  Lucy's 
cabin  to  learn  how  she  was  getting  on.  He  returned,  and 
told  them  the  lady  was  sitting  on  deck. 

"Dear  me,"  said  David,  "she  ought  to  be  in  her  bed." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  353 

He  rose  and  went  on  deck,  followed  by  Mr.  Talboys.  "  Had 
you  not  better  rest  yourself?"  said  David. 

"  No,  thank  you,  Mr.  Dodd ;  I  Lad  a  delicious  sleep  in 
the  boat." 

Here  Talboys  put  in  his  word,  and  made  her  a  rueful 
apology  for  the  turn  his  pleasure-excursion  had  taken. 

She  stopped  him  most  graciously.  "  On  the  contrary,  I 
have  to  thank  you,  indirectly,  for  one  of  the  pleasantest 
evenings  I  ever  spent.  I  never  was  in  danger  before,  and 
it  is  delightful.  I  was  a  little  frightened  at  first,  but  it  soon 
wore  off,  and  I  feel  I  should  shortly  revel  in  it ;  only  I  must 
have  a  brave  man  near  just  to  look  at,  then  I  gather  cour- 
age from  his  eye ;  do  I  not  now,  Mr.  Dodd  ?" 

"  Indeed  you  do,"  said  David,  simply  enough. 

Lucy  Fountain's  appearance  and  manner  bore  out  her 
words.  Talboys  was  white ;  even  David  and  Jack  showed 
some  signs  of  a  night  of  watching  and  anxiety ;  but  the  young 
lady's  cheek  was  red  and  fresh,  her  eye  bright,  and  she  shone 
with  an  inspired  and  sprightly  ardor  that  was  never  seen,  or 
never  observed  in  her  before.  They  had  found  the  way  to 
put  her  blood  up,  after  all — the  blood  of  the  Funteyns. 
Such  are  thorough-breds :  they  rise  with  the  occasion  ;  snobs 
descend  as  the  situation  rises.  See  that  straight-necked, 
small-nosed  mare  stepping  delicately  on  the  turnpike :  why, 
is  is  Languor  in  person,  picking  its  way  among  eggs.  Now 
the  hounds  cry,  and  the  horn  rings.  Put  her  at  timber, 
stream,  and  plowed  field  in  pleasing  rotation,  and  see  her 
now :  up  ears ;  open  nostril ;  nerves  steel ;  heart  immovable ; 
eye  of  fire  ;  foot  of  wind.  And  ho !  there !  What  stuck 
in  that  last  arable,  dead  stiff  as  the  Kosinantes  in  Trafalgar 
Square,  all  but  one  limb,  which  goes  like  a  water-wagtail's  ? 
Why,  by  Jove !  if  it  isn't  the  hero  of  the  turnpike  road ; 
the  gallant,  impatient,  foaming,  champion,  space-devouring, 
curveting  cocktail. 

Out  of  consideration  for  her  male  companions'  infirmities, 
and  observing  that  they  were  ashamed  to  take  needful  rest 


354          LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

while  she  remained  on  deck,  Lucy  at  length  retired  to  her 
cabin. 

She  slept  a  good  many  hours,  and  was  awakened  at  last 
by  the  rocking  of  the  sloop.  The  wind  had  fallen  gently, 
but  it  had  also  changed  to  due  east,  which  brought  a  heavy 
ground-swell  round  the  point  into  their  little  haven.  Lucy 
made  her  toilette,  and  came  on  deck  blooming  like  a  rose. 
The  first  person  she  encountered  was  Mr.  Talboys.  She  sa- 
luted him  cordially,  and  then  inquired  for  their  companions. 

"  Oh,  they  are  gone." 

" Gone!     What  do  you  mean  ?" 

"  Sailed  half  an  hour  ago.  Look,  there  is  the  boat  coast- 
ing the  island.  No,  not  that  way — westward ;  out  there, 
just  weathering  that  point.  Don't  you  see  ?" 

"  Are  they  making  a  tour  of  the  island,  then  ?" 

Here  the  little  Anglo-Frank  put  in  his  word.  "No, 
ma'amselle,  gone  to  catch  sheep  bound  for  ze  East  In- 
deeze." 

"Gone!  gone!  for  good?"  and  Lucy  turned  very  pale. 
The  next  moment  offended  pride  sent  the  blood  rushing  to 
her  brow.  "  That  is  just  like  Mr.  Dodd ;  there  is  not  an- 
other gentleman  in  the  world  would  have  had  the  ill-breed- 
ing to  go  off  like  that  to  India  without  even  bidding  us 
good-morning  or  good-by.  Did  he  bid  you  good-by,  Mr. 
Talboys?" 

"  No." 

"  There,  now,  it  is  insolent — it  is  barbarous."  Her  vex- 
ation at  the  affront  David  had  put  on  Mr.  Talboys  soon 
passed  into  indignation.  "  This  was  done  to  insult — to  hu- 
miliate us.  A  noble  revenge.  You  know  we  used  some- 
times to  quiz  him  a  little  ashore,  especially  you ;  so  now, 
out  of  spite,  he  has  saved  our  lives,  and  then  turned  his 
back  arrogantly  upon  us  before  we  could  express  our  grat- 
itude ;  that  is  as  much  as  to  say  he  values  us  as  so  many 
dogs  or  cats,  flings  us  our  lives  haughtily,  and  then  turns 
his  back  disdainfully  on  us.  Life  ia  not  worth  having  when 
given  so  insultingly." 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   BIE   LONG.  355 

Talboys  soothed  the  offended  fair.  "  I  really  don't  think 
he  meant  to  insult  us ;  but  you  know  Dodd :  he  is  a  good- 
natured  fellow,  but  he  never  had  the  slightest  pretension  to 
good-breeding." 

"Don't  you  think,"  replied  the  lady,  "it  would  be  as 
well  to  leave  off  detracting  from  Mr.  Dodd  now  that  he 
has  just  saved  your  life  ?" 

Talboys  opened  his  eyes.     "Why,  you  began  it." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Talboys,  do  not  descend  to  evasion.  What  I 
say  goes  for  nothing.  Mr.  Dodd  and  I  are  fast  friends, 
and  nobody  will  ever  succeed  in  robbing  me  of  my  esteem 
for  him.  But  you  always  hated  him,  and  you  seize  every 
opportunity  of  showing  your  dislike.  Poor  Mr.  Dodd !  ! 
He  has  too  many  great  virtues  not  to  be  envied — and  hated." 

Talboys  stood  puzzled,  and  was  at  a  loss  which  way  to 
steer  his  tongue,  the  wind  being  so  shifty.  At  last  he  ob- 
served a  little  haughtily  that  "  he  never  made  Mr.  Dodd  of 
so  much  importance  as  all  this.  He  owned  he  had  quizzed 
him,  but  it  was  not  his  intention  to  quiz  him  any  more  ;  for 
I  do  feel  under  considerable  obligations  to  Mr.  Dodd;  he 
has  brought  us  safe  across  the  Channel ;  at  the  same  time, 
I  own  I  should  have  been  more  grateful  if  he  had  beat 
against  the  wind  and  landed  us  on  our  native  coast ;  the 
lugger  is  there  long  before  this,  and  our  boat  was  the  best 
of  the  two.' 

"  Absurd  !"  replied  Lucy,  with  cold  hatueur.  "The  lug- 
ger had  a  sharp  stern,  but  ours  was  a  square  stern,  so  we 
were  obliged  to  run;  if  we  had  beat,  we  should  all  have 
been  drowned  directly." 

Talboys  was  staggered  by  this  sudden  influx  of  science ; 
but  he  held  his  ground.  "  There  is  something  in  that,"  said 
he  ;  "  but  still,  a — a — " 

"  There,  Mr.  Talboys,"  said  the  young  lady,  suddenly  as- 
suming extreme  languor  after  delivering  a  facer,  "  pray  do 
not  engage  me  in  an  argument.  I  do  not  feel  equal  to  one, 
especially  on  a  subject  that  has  lost  its  interest.  Can  you 
inform  me  when  this  vessel  sails  T' 


356  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"Not  till  to-morrow  morning." 

"Then  will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  borrow  mo  that  little 
boat  ?  it  is  dangling  from  the  ship,  so  it  must  belong  to  it. 
I  wish  to  land,  and  see  whether  he  has  cast  us  upon  an  in- 
or  an  unin-habited  island." 

The  sloop's  boat  speedily  landed  them  on  the  island,  and 
Lucy  proposed  to  cross  the  narrow  neck  of  land  and  view 
the  sea  they  had  crossed  in  the  dark.  This  was  soon  done, 
and  she  took  that  opportunity  of  looking  about  for  the  la- 
teen, for  her  mind  had  taken  another  turn,  and  she  doubted 
the  report  that  David  was  gone  to  intercept  the  East  India- 
man.  A  short  glance  convinced  her  it  was  true.  About 
seven  miles  to  leeward,  her  course  west-northwest,  her  hull 
every  now  and  then  hidden  by  the  waves,  her  white  sails 
spread  like  a  bird's,  the  lateen  was  flying  through  the  foam 
at  her  fastest  rate.  Lucy  gazed  at  her  so  long  and  stead- 
fastly that  Talboys  took  the  huff,  and  strolled  along  the 
cliff. 

When  Lucy  turned  to  go  back,  she  found  the  French 
skipper  coming  toward  her  with  a  scrap  of  paper  in  his 
hand.  He  presented  it  with  a  low  bow ;  she  took  it  with  a 
courtesy.  It  was  neatly  folded,  though  not  as  letters  arc 
folded  ashore,  and  it  bore  her  address.  She  opened  it  and 
read: 

"  It  was  not  worth  while  disturbing  your  rest  just  to  see 
us  go  off.  God  bless  you,  Miss  Lucy !  The  Frenchman  is 

bound  for ,  and  will  take  you  safe  ;  and  mind  you 

don't  step  ashore  till  the  plank  is  fast. 

"  Yours  respectfully,  DAVID  DODD." 

That  was  all.  She  folded  it  back  thoughtfully  into  the 
original  folds,  and  turned  away.  When  she  had  gone  but 
a  few  steps  she  stopped  and  put  her  rejected  lover's  little 
note  into  her  bosom,  and  went  slowly  back  to  the  boat, 
hanging  her  sweet  head,  and  crying  as  she  went. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LOKG.         357 


CHAPTER  XX. 

MR.  FOUNTAIN  remained  in  the  town  waiting  for  his 
niece's  return.  Six  o'clock  came — no  boat.  Eight  o'clock 
— no  boat,  and  a  heavy  gale  blowing.  He  went  down  to 
the  beach  in  great  anxiety ;  and  when  he  got  there,  he  soon 
found  it  was  shared  to  the  full  by  many  human  beings. 
There  Avere  little  knots  of  fishermen  and  sailors  discussing 
it,  and  one  poor  woman,  mother  and  wife,  stealing  from 
group  to  group,  and  listening  anxiously  to  the  men's  con- 
jectures. But  the  most  striking  feature  of  the  scene  was 
an  old  white-haired  man,  who  walked  wildly,  throwing  his 
arms  about.  The  others  rather  avoided  him,  but  Mr.  Fount- 
ain felt  he  had  a  right  to  speak  to  him  ;  so  he  came  to  him, 
and  told  him  "  his  niece  was  on  board ;  and  you  too,  I  fear, 
have  some  one  dear  to  you  in  danger." 

The  old  man  replied  sorrowfully  that  "his  lovely  new 
boat  was  in  danger — in  such  danger  that  he  should  never 
see  her  again  ;"  then  added,  going  suddenly  into  a  fury,  that 
"as  to  the  two  rascally  blue-jackets  that  were  on  board  of 
her,  and  had  borrowed  her  of  his  wife  while  he  was  out,  all 
he  wished  was  that  they  had  been  swamped  to  all  eternity 
long  ago,  then  they  would  not  have  been  able  to  come  and 
swamp  his  dear  boat." 

Peppery  old  Fountain  cursed  him  for  a  heartless  old  vag- 
abond, and  joined  the  group  whose  grief  and  anxiety  were 
less  ostentations,  being  for  the  other  boat  that  carried  their 
own  flesh  and  blood.  But  all  night  long  that  white-haired 
old  man  paced  the  shore,  flinging  his  arms,  weeping  and 
cursing  alternately,  for  his  dear  schooner. 

Oh  holy  love — of  property !  how  venerable  you  looked  in 
the  moonlight,  with  your  white  hairs  streaming !  How  well 
you  imitated,  how  close  you  rivaled  the  holiest  effusions  of 
the  heart,  and  not  for  the  first  time  nor  the  last. 


358  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"My  daughter!  my  ducats  I  my  ducats!  my  daughter! 
etc." 

The  morning  broke ;  no  sign  of  either  boat.  The  wind 
had  shifted  to  the  east,  and  greatly  abated.  The  fishermen 
began  to  have  hopes  for  their  comrades ;  these  communi- 
cated themselves  to  Mr.  Fountain. 

It  was  about  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  this  lat- 
ter observed  people  streaming  along  the  shore  to  a  distant 
point.  He  asked  a  coast-guard  man,  whom  he  observed 
scanning  the  place  with  a  glass, "  What  it  was?" 

The  man  lowered  his  voice  and  said,  "  Well,  sir,  it  will 
be  something  coming  ashore,  by  the  way  the  folk  are  run- 
ning." 

Mr.  Fountain  got  a  carriage,  and,  urging  the  driver  to  use 
speed,  was  hastily  conveyed  by  the  road  to  a  part  whence  a 
few  steps  brought  him  down  to  the  sea.  He  thrust  wildly 
in  among  the  crowd. 

"  Make  way,"  said  the  rough  fellows :  they  saw  he  was 
one  of  those  who  had  the  best  right  to  be  there. 

He  looked,  and  there,  scarce  fifty  yards  from  the  shore, 
was  the  lugger,  keel  uppermost,  drifting  in  with  the  tide. 
The  old  man  staggered,  and  was  supported  by  a  beach-man. 

When  the  wreck  came  within  fifteen  yards  of  the  shore, 
she  hung,  owing  to  the  under  suction,  and  could  get  neither 
way.  The  cries  of  the  women  broke  out  afresh  at  this. 
Then  half  a  dozen  stout  fellows  swam  in  with  ropes,  and 
with  some  difficulty  righted  her,  and  in  another  minute  she 
was  hauled  ashore. 

The  crowd  rushed  upon  her.  She  was  empty !  Not  an 
oar,  not  a  bout-hook — nothing.  But  jammed  in  between 
the  tiller  and  the  boat  they  found  a  purple  veil.  The  dis- 
covery was  announced  loudly  by  one  of  the  females,  but  the 
consequent  outcry  was  instantly  hushed  by  the  men,  and 
the  oldest  fisherman  there  took  it,  and,  in  a  sudden  dead 
and  solemn  silence,  gave  it  with  a  world  of  subdued  mean-, 
ing  to  Mr.  Fountain. 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         359 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

MR.  FOUNTAIN'S  grief  was  violent ;  the  more  so,  perhaps, 
that  it  was  not  pure  sorrow,  but  heated  with  anger  and  de- 
spair. He  had  not  only  lost  the  creature  he  loved  better 
than  any  one  else  except  himself,  but  all  his  plans  and  all 
his  ambition  were  upset  forever.  I  am  sorry  to  say  there 
were  moments  when  he  felt  indignant  with  heaven,  and  ac- 
cused its  justice.  At  other  times  the  virtues  of  her  he  had 
lost  came  to  his  recollection,  and  he  wept  genuine  tears. 
Now  she  was  dead  he  asked  himself  a  question  that  is  some- 
times reserved  for  that  occasion,  and  then  asked  with  bitter 
regret  and  idle  remorse  at  its  postponement,  "  What  can  I 
do  to  show  my  love  and  respect  for  her?"  The  poor  old 
fellow  could  think  of  nothing  now  but  to  try  and  recover 
her  body  from  the  sea,  and  to  record  her  virtues  on  her 
tomb.  Pie  employed  six  men  to  watch  the  coast  for  her 
along  a  space  of  twelve  miles,  and  he  went  to  a  marble-cut- 
ter and  ordered  a  block  of  beautiful  white  marble.  He 
drew  up  the  record  of  her  virtues  himself,  and  spelled  her 
"Fontaine,"  and  so  settled  that  question  by  brute  force. 

Oh,  you  may  giggle,  but  men  are  not  most  sincere  when 
they  are  most  reasonable,  nor  most  reasonable  when  most 
sincere.  When  a  man's  heart  is  in  a  thing,  it  is  in  it — wise 
or  nonsensical,  it  is  all  one ;  so  it  is  no  use  talking. 

I  lack  words  to  describe  the  gloom  that  fell  on  Mr.  Ba- 
zalgette's  home  when  the  sad  tidings  reached  it.  And,  in- 
deed, it  would  be  trifling  with  my  reader  to  hang  many 
more  pages  with  black  when  he  and  I  both  know  Lucy 
Fontaine  is  alive  all  the  time. 

Meantime  the  French  sloop  lay  at  her  anchor,  and  Lucy 
fretted  with  impatience.  At  noon  the  next  day  she  sailed, 
and,  being  a  slow  vessel,  did  not  anchor  off  the  port  of 


860  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LOKG. 

-  till  daybreak  the  day  after.  Then  she  had  to  wait 
for  the  tide,  and  it  was  nearly  eleven  o'clock  when  Lucy 
landed.  She  went  immediately  to  the  principal  inn  to  get 
a  conveyance.  On  the  road,  whom  should  she  meet  but 
Mr.  Hardie.  He  gave  a  joyful  start  at  sight  of  her,  and 
with  more  heart  than  she  could  have  expected  welcomed 
her  to  life  again.  From  him  she  learned  all  the  proofs  of 
her  death.  This  made  her  more  anxious  to  fly  to  her  aunt's 
house  at  once  and  undeceive  her. 

Mr.  Hardie  would  not  let  her  hire  a  carriage  ;  he  would 
drive  her  over  in  half  the  time.  He  beckoned  his  servant, 
who  was  standing  at  the  inn  door,  and  ordered  it  immedi- 
ately. "Meantime,  Miss  Fountain,  if  you  will  take  my 
arm,  I  will  show  you  something  that  I  think  will  amuse 
you,  though  we  have  found  it  any  thing  but  amusing,  as 
you  may  well  suppose."  Lucy  took  his  arm  somewhat 
timidly,  and  he  walked  her  to  the  marble-cutter's  shop. 
"Look  there,"  said  he.  Lucy  looked,  and  there  was  an 
unfinished  slab  on  which  she  read  these  words  : 


tn  tlj?  3$Bntnrtf 


OF 

EUCY  FONTAINE, 

WHO   WAS   DROWNED    AT   SEA    ON   THH 
10TII    SEPT.,    18  -  . 

As  her  beauty  endeared  her  to  all  eyes, 
So  her  modesty,  piety,  docilit 

At  this  point  in  her  moral  virtues  the  chisel  had  stopped. 
Eleven  o'clock  struck,  and  the  chisel  went  for  its  beer  ;  for 
your  English  workman  would  leave  the  d  in  "  God"  half 
finished  when  strikes  the  hour  of  beer. 

The  fact  is  that  the  shopkeeper  had  newly  set  up,  was 
proud  of  the  commission,  and,  whenever  the  chisel  left  off, 
he  whipped  into  the  workshop  and  brought  the  slab  out, 
pro  tern.,  into  his  window  for  an  advertisement. 

Hardie  pointed  it  out  to  Lucy  with  a  chuckle.    Lucy 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  361 

turned  pale,  and  put  her  hand  to  her  heart.     Hardie  saw 
his  inistak.e  too  late,  and  muttered  excuses. 

Lucy  gave  a  little  gasp  and  stopped  him.  "  Pray  say  no 
more ;  it  is  my  fault ;  if  people  will  feign  death,  they  must 
expect  these  little  tributes.  My  uncle  has  lost  no  time."" 
And  two  unreasonable  tears  swelled  to  her  eyes,  and  trick- 
led one  after  another  down  her  cheeks ;  then  she  turned 
her  back  quickly  on  the  thing,  and  Mr.  Hardie  felt  her  arm 
tremble.  "  I  think,  Mr.  Hardie,"  said  she,  presently,  with 
marked  courtesy,  "  I  should,  under  the  circumstances,  pre- 
fer to  go  home  alone.  My  aunt's  nerves  are  sensitive,  and 
I  must  think  of  the  best  way  of  breaking  to  her  the  news 
that  I  am  alive. 

"  It  would  be  best,  Miss  Fountain ;  and,  to  tell  the 
truth,  I  feel  myself  unworthy  to  accompany  you  after  be- 
ing so  maladroit  as  to  give  you  pain  in  thinking  to  amuse 
you." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Hardie,"  said  Lucy,  growing  more  and  more 
courteous,  '-'you  are  not  to  be  called  to  account  for  my 
weakness ;  that  would  be  unjust.  I  shall  have  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  you  at  dinner  f 

"  Certainly,  since  you  permit  me." 

He  put  Lucy  into  the  carriage  and  off  she  drove. 
"  Come,"  thought  Mr.  Hardie,  "  I  have  had  an  escape ; 
what  a  stupid  blunder  for  me  to  make  I  She  is  not  angry, 
though,  so  it  does  not  matter.  She  asked  me  to  dinner." 

Said  Lucy  to  herself,  "  The  man  is  a  fool.  Poor  Mr. 
Dodd !  he  would  not  have  shown  me  my  tombstone — to 
amuse  me."  And  she  dismissed  the  subject  from  her  mind. 

She  sent  away  the  carriage  and  entered  Mr.  Bazalgette's 
house  on  foot.  After  some  consideration,  she  determined 
to  employ  Jane,  a  girl  of  some  tact,  to  break  her  existence 
to  her  aunt.  She  glided  into  the  drawing-room  unobserved, 
fully  expecting  to  find  Jane  at  work  there  for  Mrs.  Bazal- 
gette.  But  the  room  was  empty.  While  she  hesitated 
what  to  do  next,  the  handle  of  the  door  was  turned,  and 
she  had  only  just  time  to  dart  behind  a  heavy  window-cur- 


362         LOVE  MB  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

tain,  when  it  opened,  and  Mrs.  Bazalgette  walked  slowly 
and  silently  in,  followed  by  a  woman.  Mrs.  Bazalgette 
seated  herself  and  sighed  deeply.  Her  companion  kept  a 
respectful  silence.  After  a  considerable  pause,  Mrs.  Bazal- 
gette said  a  few  words  in  a  voice  so  thoroughly  subdued 
and  solemn,  and  every  now  and  then  so  stifled,  that  Lucy's 
heart  yearned  for  her,  and  nothing  but  the  fear  of  frighten- 
ing her  aunt  into  an  hysterical  fit  kept  her  from  flying  into 
her  arms. 

"I  need  not  tell  you,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  "  why  I  sent 
for  you :  you  know  the  sad  bereavement  that  has  fallen  on 
me,  but  you  can  not  know  all  I  have  lost  in  her.  Nobody 
can  tell  what  she  was  to  all  of  us,  but  most  of  all  to  me. 
I  was  her  darling,  and  she  was  mine."  Here  tears  choked 
Mrs.  Bazalgette' s  words  for  a  while.  Recovering  herself, 
she  paid  a  tribute  to  the  character  of  the  deceased.  "  It 
was  a  soul  without  one  grain  of  selfishness :  all  her  thoughts 
were  for  others,  not  one  for  herself.  She  loved  us  all ;  in- 
deed, she  loved  some  that  were  hardly  worthy  of  so  pure  a 
creature's  love ;  but  the  reason  was,  she  had  no  eye  for  the 
faults  of  her  friends;  she  pictured  them  like  herself,  and 
loved  her  own  sweet  image  in  them.  And  such  a  temper ! 
and  so  free  from  guile.  I  may  truly  say  her  mind  was  as 
lovely  as  her  person." 

"She  was,  indeed,  a  sweet  young  lady,"  sighed  the 
woman. 

"  She  was  an  angel,  Baldwin — an  angel  sent  to  bear  us 
company  a  little  while,  and  now  she  is  a  saint  in  heaven," 

"  Ah !  ma'am,  the  best  goes  first,  that  is  an  old  saying." 

"  So  I  have  heard ;  but  my  niece  was  as  healthy  as  she 
was  lovely  and  good.  Every  thing  promised  long  life.  I 
hoped  she  would  have  closed  my  eyes.  In  the  bloom  of 
health  one  day,  and  the  next  lying  cold,  stark,  and  drench- 
ed ! !  Oh  how  terrible !  oh  my  poor  Lucy !  oh !  oh !  oh !" 

"  In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death,  ma'am  :  I  am  sure 
it  is  a  warning  to  me,  ma'am,  as  well  as  to  my  betters." 

"  It  is  indeed,  Baldwin,  a  warning  to  all  of  us  who  have 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         363 

!ived  too  much  for  vanities,  to  think  of  this  sweet" flower, 
snatched  in  a  moment  from  our  bosoms  and  from  the 
world ;  we  ought  to  think  of  it  on  our  knees,  and  remem- 
ber our  own  latter  end.  That  last  skirt  you  sent  me  was 
rather  scrimped,  my  poor  Baldwin." 

"Was  it, ma'am?" 

"  Oh,  it  does  not  matter ;  I  shall  never  wear  it  now ;  and, 
under  such  a  blow  as  this,  I  am  in  no  humor  to  find  fault. 
Indeed,  with  my  grief  I  neglect  my  household  and  my  very 
children.  I  forget  every  thing ;  what  did  I  send  for  you 
for  ?"  and  she  looked  with  lack-lustre  eyes  full  in  Mrs.  Bald- 
win's face. 

"Jane  did  not  say,  ma'am,  but  I  am  at  your  orders." 

"  Oh,  of  course  ;  I  am  distracted.  It  was  to  pay  the  last 
tribute  of  respect  to  her  dear  memory.  Ah !  Baldwin, 
often  and  often  the  black  dress  is  all,  but  here  the  heart 
mourns  beyond  the  power  of  grief  to  express  by  any  out- 
ward trappings.  No  matter  ;  the  world,  the  shallow  world, 
respects  these  signs  of  woe,  and  let  mine  be  the  deepest 
mourning  ever  worn,  and  the  richest.  And  out  of  that 
mourning  I  shall  never  go  while  I  live." 

"  No,  ma'am  "  said  Baldwin,  soothingly. 

"  Do  you  doubt  me  ?"  asked  the  lady,  with  a  touch  of 
sharpness  that  did  not  seem  called  for  by  Baldwin's  humble 
acquiescence. 

"  Oh  no,  ma'am  ;  it  is  a  very  natural  thought  under  the 
present  affliction,  and  most  becoming  the  sad  occasion.  Well, 
ma'am,  the  deepest  mourning,  if  you  please,  I  should  say 
cashmere  and  crape." 

"  Yes,  that  would  be  deep.  Oh  !  Baldwin,  it  is  her  vio- 
lent death  that  kills  me.  Well  ?" 

"  Cashmere  and  crape,  ma'am,  and  with  nothing  white 
about  the  neck  and  arms." 

"  Yes ;  oh  yes ;  but  will  not  that  be  rather  unbecoming?" 

"Well,  ma'am — "  and  Baldwin  hesitated. 

"  I  hardly  see  how  I  coukl  wear  that,  it  makes  one  look 
so  old.  Now  don't  you  think  black  glace  silk,  and  trimmed 
with  love-ribbon,  black  of  course,  but  scalloped — " 


364  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  That  would  be  very  rich  indeed,  ma'am,  and  very  be- 
coming to  you ;  but,  being  so  near  and  dear,  it  would  not 
be  so  deep  as  you  are  desirous  of." 

"  Why,  Baldwin,  you  don't  attend  to  what  I  say ;  I  told 
you  I  was  never  going  out  of  mourning  again,  so  what  is 
the  use  of  your  proposing  any  thing  to  me  that  I  can't  wear 
all  my  life?  Now  tell  me,  can  I  always  wear  cashmere 
and  crape?" 

"  Oh  no,  ma'am,  that  is  out  of  the  question ;  and  if  it  is 
for  a  permanency,  I  don't  see  how  we  could  improve  on 
glace  silk,  with  crape,  and  love-ribbons.  Would  you  like 
the  body  trimmed  with  jet,  ma'am  ?" 

"  Oh,  don't  ask  me  ;  I  don't  know.  If  my  darling  had 
only  died  comfortably  in  her  bed,  then  we  could  have  laid 
out  her  sweet  remains,  and  dressed  them  for  her  virgin 
tomb." 

"It  would  have  been  a  satisfaction,  ma'am." 

"  A  sad  one,  at  the  best ;  but  now  the  very  earth,  per- 
haps, will  never  receive  her.  Oh  yes,  any  thing  you  like — 
the  body  trimmed  with  jet,  if  you  wish  it ;  and,  let  me  see, 
a  gauze  bodice,  goffered,  fastened  to  the  throat.  That  is  all, 
I  think ;  the  sleeves  confined  at  the  wrist  just  enough  not 
to  expose  the  arm,  and  yet  look  light — you  understand." 

"  Yes,  ma'am." 

"  She  kissed  me  just  before  she  went  on  that  fatal  excur- 
sion, Baldwin ;  she  will  never  kiss  me  again — oh !  oh !  You 
must  call  on  Dejazet  for  me,  and  bespeak  me  a  bonnet  to 
match ;  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  I  can  run  about  after  her 
trumpery  at  such  a  time  ;  besides,  it  is  not  usual." 

"  Indeed,  ma'am,  you  are  in  no  state  for  it ;  I  will  under- 
take any  purchases  you  may  require." 

"  Thank  you,  my  good  Baldwin ;  you  are  a  good,  kind, 
feeling,  useful  soul.  Oh,  Baldwin,  if  it  had  pleased  heaven 
to  take  her  by  disease,  it  would  have  been  bad  enough  to 
lose  her ;  but  to  be  drowned !  her  clothes  all  wetted  through 
and  through ;  her  poor  hair  drenched  too ;  and  then  the 
water  is  so  cold  at  this  time  of  year — oh !  oh !  Send  me  a 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.        365 

cross  of  jet,  and  jet  beads,  with  the  dress,  and  a  jet  brooch, 
and  a  set  of  jet  buttons,  in  case — besides — oh !  oh  !  oh ! — I 
expect  every  moment  to  see  her  carried  home,  all  pale  and 
wetted  by  the  nasty  sea — oh  !  oh ! — and  an  evening  dress 
of  the  same,  the  newest  fashion.  I  leave  it  to  you ;  don't 
ask  me  any  questions  about  it,  for  I  can't  and  won't  go  into 
that.  I  can  try  it  on  when  it  is  made — oh !  oh !  oh ! — it 
does  not  do  to  love  any  creature  as  I  loved  my  poor  lost 
Lucy — and  a  black  fan — oh !  oh ! — and  a  dozen  pair  of 
black  kid  gloves — oh  ! — and  a  mourning-ring — and — " 

"  Stop,  aunt,  or  your  love  for  me  will  be  your  ruin  !"  said 
Lucy,  coldly,  and  stood  suddenly  before  the  pair,  looking 
rather  cynical. 

"  What,  Lucy !  alive !     No,  her  ghost — ah !  ah !" 

"  Be  calm,  aunt ;  I  am  alive  and  well.  Now  don't  be 
childish,  dear ;  I  have  been  in  danger,  but  here  I  am." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  and  Mrs.  Baldwin  flew  together,  and 
trembled  in  one  another's  arms.  Lucy  tried  to  soothe  them, 
but  at  last  could  not  help  laughing  at  them.  This  brought 
Baldwin  to  her  senses  quicker  than  any  thing ;  but  Mrs. 
Bazalgette,  who,  like  many  false  women,  was  hysterical, 
went  off  into  spasms — genuine  ones.  They  gave  her  salts 
— in  vain.  Slapped  her  hands — in  vain. 

Then  Lucy  cried  to  Baldwin,  "  Quick !  the  tumbler ;  I 
must  sprinkle  her  face  and  bosom." 

"Oh,  don't  spoil  my  lilac  gown!"  gasped  the  sufferer, 
and  with  a  mighty  effort  she  came  to.  She  would  have 
come  back  from  the  edge  of  the  grave  to  shield  silk  from 
water.  Finally  she  wreathed  her  arms  round  Lucy,  and 
kissed  her  so  tenderly,  warmly,  and  sobbingly,  that  Lucy 
got  over  the  shock  of  her  shallowness,  and  they  kissed  and 
cried  together  most  joyously,  while  Baldwin,  after  a  heroic 
attempt  at  jubilation,  retired  from  the  room  with  a  face  as 
long  as  your  arm.  A  las  les  revenants  !  !  She  went  to  the 
housekeeper's  room.  The  housekeeper  persuaded  her  to 
stay  and  take  a  bit  of  dinner,  and  soon  after  dinner  sho  WHS 
sent  for  to  Mrs.  Bazalgette's  room. 


360  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Lucy  met  her  coming  out  of  it.  "  I  feat'  I  came  mal 
apropos,  Mrs.  Baldwin  ;  if  I  had  thought  of  it,  I  would  have 
waited  till  you  had  secured  that  munificent  order." 

"  I  am  much  obliged  to  you,  miss,  I  am  sure ;  but  you 
were  always  a  considerate  young  lady.  You'll  be  glad  to 
learn,  miss,  it  makes  no  difference ;  I  have  got  the  order ; 
it  is  all  right." 

"That  is  fortunate,"  replied  Lucy, kindly,  "otherwise  I 
should  have  been  tempted  to  commit  an  extravagance  with 
you  myself.  Well,  and  what  is  my  aunt's  new  dress  to  be 
now  ?" 

"  Oh,  the  same,  miss." 

"The  same?  why,  she  is  not  going  into  mourning  on  my 
return"?  ha!  ha!" 

"La  bless  you,  miss,  mourning?  you  can't  call  that 
mourning :  glace  silk,  and  love-ribbons  scalloped  out,  and 
cetera.  Of  course,  it  was  not  my  business  to  tell  her  so, 
but  I  could  not  help  thinking  to  myself,  if  that  is  the  way 
my  folk  are  going  to  mourn  for  me,  they  may  just  let  it 
alone.  However,  that  is  all  over  now ;  and  your  aunt  sent 
for  me,  and  says  she,  'Black  becomes  me;  you  will  make 
the  dresses  all  the  same.'  "  And  Baldwin  retired  radiant. 

Lucy  put  her  hand  to  her  bosom.  "Make  the  dresses 
all  the  same — all  the  same,  whether  I  am  alive  or  dead. 
No,  I  will  not  cry;  no, I  will  not.  Who  is  worth  a  tear? 
what  is  worth  a  tear  ?  All  the  same.  It  is  not  to  be  for- 
gotten— nor  forgiven.  Poor  Mr.Dodd!  !" 

Mr.  Fountain  learned  the  good  news  in  the  town,  so  his 
meeting  with  Lucy  was  one  of  pure  joy.  Mr.  Talboys  did 
not  hear  any  thing.  He  had  business  up  in  London,  and 
did  not  stay  ten  minutes  in . 

The  house  revived,  and  jubilabat,  jubilabat.  But  after 
the  first  burst  of  triumph  things  went  flat.  David  Dodd 
was  gone,  and  was  missed ;  and  Lucy  was  changed.  She 
looked  a  shade  older,  and  more  than  one  shade  graver ;  and 
instead  of  living  solely  ior  those  who  happened  to  be  bask- 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         367 

ing  in  her  rays,  she  was  now  and  then  comparatively  inat- 
tentive, thoughtful,  and  distraite. 

Mr.  Fountain  watched  her  keenly ;  ditto  Mrs.  Bazalgette. 
A  slight  reaction  had  taken  place  in  both  their  bosoms. 

D  *• 

"Hang  the  girl!  there  were  we  breaking  our  hearts  for 
her,  and  she  was  alive."  She  had  "  beguiled  them  of  their 
tears." — Othello.  But  they  still  loved  her  quite  well  enough 
to  take  charge  of  her  fate. 

A  sort  of  itch  for  settling  other  people's  destinies,  and  so 
gaining  a  title  to  their  curses  for  our  pragmatical  and  fatal 
interference,  is  the  commonest  of  all  the  forms  of  sanction- 
ed lunacy. 

Moreover,  these  two  had  imbibed  the  spirit  of  rivalry, 
and  each  was  stimulated  by  the  suspicion  that  the  other  was 
secretly  at  work. 

Lucy's  voluntary  promise  in  the  ball-room  was  a  double 
sheet-anchor  to  Mr.  Fountain.  It  secured  him  against  the 
only  rival  he  dreaded.  Talboys,  too,  was  out  of  the  way 
just  now,  and  the  absence  of  the  suitor  is  favorable  to  his 
success,  where  the  lady  has  no  personal  liking  for  him.  To 
work  went  our  Machiavel  again,  heart  and  soul,  and  whom 
do  you  think  he  had  the  cheek,  or,  as  the  French  say,  the 
forehead,  to  try  and  win  over "? — Mrs.  Bazalgette. 

This  bold  step,  however,  was  not  so  strange  as  it  would 
have  been  a  month  ago.  The  fact  is,  I  have  brought  you 
unfairly  close  to  this  pair.  When  you  meet  them  in  the 
world  you  will  be  charmed  with  both  of  them,  and  recog- 
nize neither.  There  are  whose  faults  are  all  on  the  surface : 
these  are  generally  disliked ;  there  are  whose  faults  are  all 
at  the  core :  they  charm  creation.  Mrs.  Bazalgette  is  al- 
lowed by  both  sexes  to  be  the  most  delightful,  amiable  wom- 
an in  the  county,  and  will  carry  that  reputation  to  her 
grave.  Fountain  is  "the  jolliest  old  buck  ever  went  on 
two  legs."  I  myself  would  rather  meet  twelve  such  agree- 
able humbugs — six  of  a  sex — at  dinner  than  the  twelve  apos- 
tles, and  so  would  you,  though  you  don't  know  it.  These 
two,  then,  had  long  ere  this  found  each  other  mighty  agree- 


368  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

able.  The  woman  saw  the  man's  vanity,  and  flattered  it 
The  man  the  woman's,  and  flattered  it.  Neither  saw — am 
I  to  say — his  own  or  her  own,  or  what  ?  Hang  language ! s. !! 
In  short,  they  had  long  ago  oiled  one  another's  asperities, 
and  their  intercourse  was  smooth  and  frequent :  they  were 
always  chatting  together — strewing  flowers  of  speech  over 
their  mines  and  counter-mines. 

Mr.  Fountain,  then,  who,  in  virtue  of  his  sex,  had  the  less 
patience,  broke  ground. 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  I  would  not  have  missed  this 
visit  for  a  thousand  pounds.  Certainly  there  is  nothing 
like  contact  for  rubbing  off  prejudices.  I  little  thought, 
when  I  first  came  here,  the  principal  attraction  of  the  place 
would  prove  to  be  my  fair  hostess." 

"  I  know  you  were  prejudiced,  my  dear  Mr.  Fountain. 
I  can't  say  I  ever  had  any  against  you,  but  certainly  I  did 
not  know  half  your  good  qualities.  However,  your  courte- 
sy to  me  when  I  invaded  you  at  Font  Abbey  prepared  me 
for  your  real  character ;  and  now  this  visit,  I  trust,  makes 
us  friends." 

"  An !  my  dear  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  one  thing  only  is  want- 
ing to  make  you  my  benefactor  as  well  as  friend :  if  I  could 
only  persuade  you  to  withdraw  your  powerful  opposition  to 
a  poor  old  fellow's  dream." 

"What  poor  old  fellow?" 

"  Me." 

"You?  why,  you  are  not  so  very  old.  You  are  not 
above  fifty." 

"  Ah !  fair  lady,  you  must  not  evade  me.  Come,  can 
nothing  soften  you  ?" 

"  I  don't  know  what  you  mean,  Mr.  Fountain,"  and  tho 
mellifluous  tones  dried  suddenly. 

"You  are  too  sagacious  not  to  know  every  thing;  you 
know  my  heart  is  set  on  marrying  my  niece  to  a  man  of  an- 
cient family." 

"  With  all  my  heart.  You  have  only  to  use  your  influ- 
ence with  her.  If  she  consents,  I  will  not  oppose." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  369 

"You  cruel  little  lady,  you  know  it  is  not  enough  to 
withdraw  opposition :  I  can't  succeed  without  your  kind 
aid  and  support." 

"  Now,  Mr.  Fountain,  I  am  a  great  coward,  but,  really,  I 
could  almost  venture  to  scold  you  a  little.  Is  not  a  poor 
little  woman  to  be  allowed  to  set  her  heart  on  things  as  well 
as  a  poor  old  gentleman  who  does  not  look  fifty?  You 
know  my  poor  little  heart  is  bent  on  her  marrying  into  our 
own  set,  yet  you  can  ask  me  to  influence  her  the  other  way 
— me,  who  have  never  once  said  a  word  to  her  for  my  own 
favorites !  No ;  the  fairest,  kindest,  and  best  way  is  to 
leave  her  to  select  her  own  happiness." 

"  A  fine  thing  it  would  be  if  young  people  were  left  to 
marry  who  they  like,"  retorted  Fountain.  "  My  dear  lady, 
I  would  never  have  asked  your  aid  so  long  as  there  was 
the  least  chance  of  her  marrying  Mr.  Hardie  ;  but,  now  that 
she  has  of  her  own  accord  declined  him — " 

"  What  is  that  ?  declined  Mr.  Hardie  ?  when  did  he  ever 
propose  for  her  ?" 

"  You  misunderstand  me.  She  came  to  me  and  told  me 
she  would  never  marry  him." 

"  When  was  that  ?     I  don't  believe  it." 

"It  was  in  the  ball-room." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  reflected;  then  she  turned  very  red; 
"  Well,  sir,"  said  she,  "  don't  build  too  much  on  that ;  for 
four  months  ago  she  made  me  a  solemn  promise  she  would 
never  marry  any  lover  you  should  find  her,  and  she  repeat- 
ed that  promise  in  your  very  house." 

"  I  don't  believe  it,  madam." 

"  That  is  polite,  sir.  Come,  Mr.  Fountain,  you  are  agi- 
tated and  cross,  and  it  is  no  use  being  cross  either  with  me 
or  with  Lucy.  You  asked  my  co-operation :  you  gentle- 
men can  ask  any  thing ;  and  you  are  wise  to  do  these  droll 
things  ;  that  is  where  you  gain  the  advantage  over  us  poor 
cowards  of  women.  Well,  I  will  co-operate  with  you. 
Now  listen :  Lucy's  penchant  is  neither  for  Mr.  Hardie  nor 
Mr.  Talboys,  but  for  Mr.  Dodd." 

Q2 


370        LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"You  don't  mean  it?" 

"Oh,  she  does  not  care  much  for  him;  she  has  refused 
him  to  my  knowledge,  and  would  again  ;  besides,  he  is  gone 
to  India,  so  there  is  an  end  of  him.  She  seems  a  little  lan- 
guid and  out  of  spirits  ;  it  may  be  because  he  is  gone.  Now, 
then,  is  the  very  time  to  press  a  marriage  upon  her." 

"The  very  worst  time,  surely,  if  she  is  really  such  an 
idiot  as  to  be  fretting  for  a  fellow  who  is  away." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  informed  her  new  ally  condescendingly 
that  he  knew  nothing  of  the  sex  he  had  undertaken  to 
tackle. 

"  When  a  cold-blooded  girl  like  this,  who  has  no  strong 
attachment,  is  out  of  spirits,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  then 
is  the  time  she  falls  to  any  resolute  wooer.  She  will  yield 
if  we  both  insist,  and  we  will  insist :  only  keep  your  tem- 
per, and  let  nothing  tempt  you  to  say  an  unkind  word  to 
her." 

She  then  rang  the  bell,  and  desired  that  Miss  Fountain 
might  be  requested  to  come  into  the  drawing-room  for  a 
minute. 

"  But  what  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"  Give  her  the  choice  of  two  husbands — Mr.  Talboys  or 
Mr.  Hardie." 

"  She  will  take  neither,  I  am  afraid." 

"  Oh  yes,  she  will." 

"  Which  ?" 

"  Ah !  the  one  she  dislikes  the  least." 

"  By  Jove,  you  are  right — you  are  an  angel ;"  and  the 
old  gentleman,  in  his  gratitude  to  her  who  was  outwitting 
him,  and  vice  versa,  kissed  Mrs.  Bazalgette's  hand  with 
great  devotion,  in  which  act  he  was  surprised  by  Lucy, 
who  floated  through  the  folding  doors.  She  said  nothing, 
but  her  face  volumes. 

"  Sit  down,  love." 

"Yes,  aunt." 

She  sat  down,  and  her  eye  mildly  bored  both  relatives, 
like,  if  you  can  imagine  a  gentle  gimlet,  worked  by  insinua- 
tion, not.  force. 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  371 

Then  the  favored  Fountain  enjoyed  the  inestimable  priv- 
ilege of  beholding  a  small  bout  of  female  fence. 

The  accomplished  actress  of  forty  began. 

The  novice  held  herself  apparently  all  open  with  a  sweet 
smile,  the  eye  being  the  only  weapon  that  showed  point. 

"  My  love,  your  uncle  and  I,  who  were  not  always  just 
to  one  another,  have  been  united  by  our  love  for  you." 

"  So  I  observed  as  I  came  in — ahem !" 

"  Henceforth  we  are  one  where  your  welfare  is  concerned, 
and  we  have  something  serious  to  say  to  you  now.  There 
is  a  report,  dearest,  creeping  about  that  you  have  formed  an 
unfortunate  attachment — to  a  person  beneath  you." 

"  Who  told  you  that,  aunt  ?  Name,  as  they  say  in  the 
House." 

"  No  matter ;  these  things  are  commonly  said  without 
foundation  in  this  wicked  world;  but,  still,  it  is  always 
worth  our  while  to  prove  them  false,  not,  of  course,  directly 
— '  qui  s' 'excuse  s 'accuse1 — but  indirectly." 

"  I  agree  with  you,  and  I  shall  do  so  in  my  uncle's  pres- 
ence. You  were  present,  aunt — though  uninvited — when 
the  gentleman  you  allude  to  offered  me  what  I  consider  a 
great  honor,  and  you  heard  me  decline  it ;  you  are  there- 
fore fully  able  to  contradict  that  report,  whose  source,  by- 
the-by,  you  have  not  given  me,  and  of  course  you  will  con- 
tradict it." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  colored  a  little.  But  she  said  affection- 
ately, "  These  silly  rumors  are  best  contradicted  by  a  good 
marriage,  love,  and  that  brings  me  to  something  more  im- 
portant. We  have  two  proposals  for  you,  and  both  of  them 
excellent  ones.  Now,  in  a  matter  where  your  happiness  is 
at  stake,  your  uncle  and  I  are  determined  not  to  let  our 
private  partialities  speak.  We  do  press  you  to  select  one 
of  these  offers,  but  leave  you  quite  free  as  to  which  you 
take.  Mi-.  Talboys  is  a  gentleman  of  old  family  and  large 
estates.  Mr.  Hardie  is  a  wealthy,  and  able,  and  rising  man. 
They  are  both  attached  to  you;  both  excellent  matches. 
Whichever  you  choose  your  uncle  and  I  shall  both  feel  that 


372  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

an  excellent  position  for  life  is  yours,  and  no  regret  that 
you  did  not  choose  our  especial  favorite  shall  stain  our  joy 
or  our  love."  With  this  generous  sentiment  tears  welled 
from  her  eyes,  whereat  Fountain  worshiped  her  and  felt  his 
littleness. 

But  Lucy  was  of  her  own  sex,  and  had  observed  what  an 
unlimited  command  of  eye-water  an  hysterical  female  pos- 
sesses. She  merely  bowed  her  head  graciously,  and  smiled 
politely.  Thus  encouraged  to  proceed,  her  aunt  dried  her 
eyes  with  a  smile,  and  with  genial  cheerfulness  proceeded : 
"  Well  then,  dear,  which  shall  it  be — Mr.  Talboys  ?" 

Lucy  opened  her  eyes  so  innocently.  "  My  dear  aunt,  I 
wonder  at  that  question  from  you.  Did  you  not  make  me 
promise  you  I  would  never  marry  that  gentleman,  nor  any 
friend  of  my  uncle's?" 

"And  did  you?"  cried  Fountain. 

"  I  did,"  replied  the  penitent,  hanging  her  head.  "  My 
aunt  was  so  kind  to  me  about  something  or  other,  I  forget 
what." 

Fountain  bounced  up  and  paced  the  room. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  lowered  her  voice.  "It  is  to  be  Mr. 
Hardie,then?" 

"Mr.  Hardie!  !  !"  cried  Lucy,  rather  loudly,  to  attract 
her  uncle's  attention.  "  Oh  no,  the  same  objection  applies 
there ;  I  made  my  uncle  a  solemn  promise  not  to  marry  any 
friend  of  yours,  aunt.  Poor  uncle !  I  refused  at  first,  but 
he  looked  so  unhappy  my  resolution  failed,  and  I  gave  my 
promise.  I  will  keep  it,  uncle.  Don't  fear  me." 

It  cost  Mrs.  Bazalgette  a  fierce  struggle  to  command  her 
temper.  Both  she  and  Fountain  were  dumb  for  a  minute ; 
then  elastic  Mrs.  Bazalgette  said, 

"  We  wei'e  both  to  blame ;  you  and  I  did  not  really  know- 
each  other.  The  best  thing  we  can  do  now  is  to  release 
the  poor  girl  from  these  silly  promises,  that  stand  in  the 
way  of  her  settlement  in  life." 

"  I  agree,  madam." 

"  So  do  I.    There,  Lucy,  choose,  for  we  both  release  you. 


LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.  373 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Lucy,  gravely  ;  "  but  how  can  you  ?  , 
No  unfair  advantage  was  taken  of  me ;  I  plighted  my  word 
knowingly  and  solemnly,  and  no  human  power  can  release 
persons  of  honor  from  a  solemn  pledge.  Besides,  just  now 
you  would  release  me ;  but  you  might  not  always  be  in  the 
same  mind.  No,  I  will  keep  faith  with  you  both,  and  not 
place  my  truth  at  the  mercy  of  any  human  being  nor  of 
any  circumstance.  If  that  is  all,  please  permit  me  to  re- 
tire. The  less  a  young  lady  of  my  age  thinks  or  talks  about 
the  other  sex,  the  more  time  she  has  for  her  books  and  her 
needle;"  and,  having  delivered  this  precious  sentence  with 
a  deliberate  and  most  deceiving  imitation  of  the  pedantic 
prude,  she  departed,  and,  outside  the  door,  broke  instantly 
into  a  joyous  chuckle  at  the  expense  of  the  plotters  she 
had  left  looking  moonstruck  in  one  another's  faces. 

If  the  new  allies  had  been  both  Fountain,  the  apple  of 
discord  this  sweet  novice  threw  down  between  them  would 
have  dissolved  the  alliance,  as  the  sly  novice  meant  it  to  do ; 
but,  while  the  gentleman  went  storming  about  the  room 
ripe  for  civil  war,  the  lady  leaned  back  in  her  chair  and 
laughed  heartily. 

"  Come,  Mr.  Fountain,  it  is  no  use  your  being  cross  with 
a  female,  or  she  will  get  the  better  of  you.  She  has  out- 
witted us.  We  took  her  for  a  fool,  and  she  is  a  clever  girl. 
I'll — tell — you — what,  she  is  a  very  clever  girl.  Never 
mind  that,  she  is  only  a  girl ;  and,  if  you  will  be  ruled  by 
me,  her  happiness  shall  be  secured  in  spite  of  her,  and  she 
shall  be  engaged  in  less  than  a  week." 

Fountain  recognized  his  superior,  and  put  himself  under 
the  lady's  orders — in  an  evil  hour  for  Lucy. 

The  poor  girl's  triumph  over  the  forces  was  but  moment- 
ary ;  her  ground  was  not  tenable.  The  person  promised 
can  release  the  person  who  promises — volenti  non  Jit  mjuria. 
Lucy  found  herself  attacked  with  female  weapons,  that  you 
and  I,  sir,  should  laugh  at ;  but  they  made  her  miserable. 
Cold  looks  ;  short  answers  ;  solemnity ;  distance  ;  hints  at 
ingratitude  and  perverseness ;  kisses  intermitted  all  day,  and 


374  LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

the  parting  one  at  night  degraded  to  a  dignified  ceremony. 
Under  this  impalpable  persecution  the  young  thorough-bred, 
that  had  steered  the  boat  across  the  breakers,  winced  and 
pined. 

She  did  not  want  a  husband  or  a  lover,  but  she  could 
not  live  without  being  loved.  She  was  not  sent  into  the 
world  for  that.  She  began  secretly  to  hate  the  two  gentle- 
men that  had  lost  her  her  relations'  affection,  and  she  looked 
round  to  see  how  she  could  get  rid  of  them  without  giving 
fresh  offense  to  her  dear  aunt  and  uncle.  If  she  could  only 
make  it  their  own  act !  Now  a  man  in  such  a  case  inclines 
to  give  the  obnoxious  parties  a  chance  of  showing  them- 
selves generous  and  delicate ;  he  would  reveal  the  whole 
situation  to  them,  and  indicate  the  generous  and  manly 
course ;  but  your  thorough  woman  can  not  do  this :  it  is 
physically  as  well  as  morally  impossible  to  her.  Misogy- 
nists say  it  is  too  wise,  and  not  cunning  enough.  So  what 
does  Miss  Lucy  do  but  turn  round  and  make  love  to  Cap- 
tain Kenealy  ?  And  the  cold  virgin  being  at  last  by  irrevo- 
cable fate  driven  to  love-making,  I  will  say  this  for  her, 
she  did  not  do  it  by  halves.  She  felt  quite  safe  here.  The 
good-natured,  hollow  captain  was  fortified  against  passion 
by  self-admiration.  She  said  to  herself,  "  Now  here  is  a 
peg  with  a  military  suit  hanging  to  it ;  if  I  can  only  fix  my 
eyes  on  this  piece  of  wood  and  regimentals,  and  make  warm 
love  to  it,  the  love  that  poets  have  dreamed  and  romances 
described,  I  may  surely  hope  to  disgust  my  two  admirers, 
and  then  they  will  abandon  me  and  despise  me.  Ah !  I 
could  love  them  if  they  would  only  do  that." 

Well,  for  a  young  lady  that  had  never,  to  her  knowl- 
edge, felt  the  tender  passion,  the  imitation  thereof  which 
she  now  favored  that  little  society  with  was  a  wonderful 
piece  of  representation.  Was  Kenealy  absent,  behold  Lucy 
uneasy  and  restless ;  was  he  present,  but  at  a  distance,  her 
eye  demurely  devoured  him  ;  was  he  near  her,  she  wooed 
him  with  such  a  godlike  mixture  of  fire,  of  tenderness,  of 
flattery,  of  tact ;  she  did  so  serpentinely  approach  and  coil 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.  375 

round  the  soldier  and  his  mental  cavity,  that  all  the  males 
in.  creation  should  have  been  permitted  to  defile  past  (like 
the  beasts  going  into  the  ark),  and  view  this  sweet  picture 
a  moment,  and  infer  how  woman  would  be  wooed,  and  then 
go  and  do  it.  Effect :  Talboys  and  Hardie  mortified  to  the 
heart's  core ;  thought  they  had  altogether  mistaken  her  char- 
acter. "  She  is  a  love-sick  fool." 

On  Bazalgette :  "  Ass  !  Dodd  was  worth  a  hundred  of 
him." 

On  Kenealy :  made  him  twirl  his  mustache. 

On  Fountain :  filled  him  with  dismay. 

There  remained  only  one  to  be  hoodwinked. 

SCENA. 

A  letter  is  brought  in  and  handed  to  Captain  Kenealy. 
He  reads  it,  and  looks  a  little — a  very  little — vexed.  No- 
body else  notices  it. 

Lucy.  "  What  is  the  matter?     Oh,  what  has  occurred?" 

Kenealy.  "  Nothing  particulaa." 

Lucy.  "  Don't  deceive  us :  it  is  an  order  for  you  to  join 
the  horrid  army."  (Clasps  her  hands.)  "You  are  going 
to  leave  us." 

Kenealy.  "No,  it  is  from  my  tailaa.  He  waunts  to  be 
paed."  (Glares  astonished.) 

Lucy.  "Pay  the  creature,  and  never  more  employ  him." 

Kenealy.  "  Can't.  Haven't  got  the  money.  Uncle  won't 
daie.  The  begaa  knows  I  can't  pay  him,  that  is  the  rea- 
son why  he  duns." 

Lucy.  "He  knows  it?  then  what  business  has  he  to  an- 
noy you  thus  ?  Take  my  advice.  Return  no  reply.  That 
is  not  courteous.  But  when  the  sole  motive  of  an  applica- 
tion is  impertinence,  silent  contempt  is  the  course  best  be- 
fitting your  dignity." 

Kenealy  (twirling  his  mustache).  "Dem  the  fellaa. 
Sha'n't  take  any  notice  of  him." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  (to  Lucy  in  passing).  "  Do  you  think  we 
are  all  fools?" 


S76  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Ibi  omnis  ejfusus  amor ;  for  La  Bazalgette  undeceived  her 
ally  and  Mr.  Hardie,  and  the  screw  was  put  harder  still  on 
poor  Lucy.  She  was  no  longer  treated  like  an  equal,  but 
made  for  the  first  time  to  feel  that  her  uncle  and  aunt  were 
her  elders  and  superiors,  and  that  she  was  in  revolt.  All 
external  signs  of  affection  were  withdrawn,  and  this  was 
like  docking  a  strawberry  of  its  water.  A  young  girl  may 
have  flashes  of  spirit,  heroism  even,  but  her  mind  is  never 
steel  from  top  to  toe ;  it  is  sure  to  be  wax  in  more  places 
than  one. 

"Nobody  loves  me  now  that  poor  Mr.  Dodd  is  gone," 
sighed  Lucy.  "Nobody  ever  will  love  me  unless  I  consent 
to  sacrifice  myself.  Well,  why  not  ?  I  shall  never  love  any 
gentleman  as  others  of  my  sex  can  love.  I  will  go  and  see 
Mrs.  Wilson." 

So  she  ordered  out  her  captain,  and  rode  to  Mrs.  Wilson, 
and  made  her  captain  hold  her  pony  while  she  went  in. 
Mrs.  Wilson  received  her  with  a  tenor  scream  of  delight  that 
revived  Lucy's  heart  to  hear,  and  then  it  was  nothing  but 
one  broad  gush  of  hilarity  and  cordiality — showed  her  the 
house,  showed  her  the  cows,  showed  her  the  parlor  at  last, 
and  made  her  sit  down. 

"  Come,  set  ye  down,  set  ye  down,  and  let  me  have  a 
downright  good  look  at  ye.  It  is  not  often  I  clap  eyes  on 
ye,  or  on  any  thing  like  ye,  for  that  matter.  Aren't  ye 
well,  my  dear  ?" 

«  Oh  yes." 

"  Are  ye  sure  ?  Haven't  ye  ailed  any  thing  since  I  saw 
ye  up  at  the  house  *?" 

"No,  dear  nurse." 

"Then  you  are  in  care.  Bless  you,  it  is  not  the  same 
face — to  a  stranger,  belike,  but  not  to  the  one  that  suckled 
you.  Why,  there  is  next  door  to  a  wrinkle  on  your  pretty 
brow,  and  a  little  hollow  under  your  eye,  and  your  face  is 
drawn  like,  and  not  half  the  color.  You  are  in  trouble  or 
grief  of  some  sort,  Miss  Lucy;  and — who  knows? — mayhap 
you  be  como  to  tell  it  your  poor  old  nurse.  You  might  go 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  377 

to  a  worse .  part.  Ay !  what  touches  you  will  touch  me, 
my  nursling  dear,  all  one  as  if  it  was  your  own  mother." 

"  Ah !  you  love  me,"  cried  Lucy ;  "  I  don't  know  why 
you  love  me  so  ;  I  have  not  deserved  it  of  you,  as  I  have  of 
others  that  look  coldly  on  me.  Yes,  you  love  me,  or  you 
would  not  read  my  face  like  this.  It  is  true,  I  am  a  little 
— oh,  nurse,  I  am  unhappy;"  and  in  a  moment  she  was 
weeping  and  sobbing  in  Mrs.  Wilson's  arms. 

The  amazon  sat  down  with  her,  and  rocked  to  and  fro 
with  her  as  if  she  was  still  a  child.  "  Don't  check  it,  my 
lamb,"  said  she  ;  "  have  a  good  cry;  never  drive  a  cry  back 
on  your  heart ;"  and  so  Lucy  sobbed  and  sobbed,  and  Mrs. 
Wilson  rocked  her. 

When  she  had  done  sobbing  she  put  up  a  grateful  face 
and  kissed  Mrs.  Wilson.  But  the  good  woman  would  not 
let  her  go.  She  still  rocked  with  her,  and  said,  "  Ay,  ay, 
it  wasn't  for  nothing  I  was  drawed  so  to  go  to  your  house 
that  day.  I  didn't  know  you  were  there ;  but  I  was  draw- 
ed. I  WAS  WANTED.  Tell  me  all,  my  lamb ;  never 
keep  grief  on  your  heart ;  give  it  a  vent ;  put  a  part  on't  on 
me ;  I  do  claim  it ;  you  will  see  how  much  lighter  your 
heart  will  feel.  Is  it  a  young  man?" 

"  Oh  no,  no ;  I  hate  young  men ;  I  wish  there  were  no 
such  things.  But  for  them  no  dissension  could  ever  have 
entered  the  house.  My  uncle  and  aunt  both  loved  me  once, 
and  oh !  they  were  so  kind  to  me.  Yes ;  since  you  permit 
me,  I  will  tell  you  all." 

And  she  told  her  a  part. 

She  told  her  the  whole  Talboys  and  Hardie  part. 

Mrs.  Wilson  took  a  broad  and  somewhat  vulgar  view  of 
the  distress. 

"Why,  Miss  Lucy,"  said  she,  "if  that  is  all,  you  can 
soon  sew  up  their  stockings.  You  don't  depend  on  them, 
any  ways :  you  are  a  young  lady  of  property." 

"Oh!  amir 

"  Sure.  I  have  heard  your  dear  mother  say  often  as  all 
her  money  was  settled  on  you  by  deed.  Why,  you  must  bo 
of  age,  Miss  Lucy,  or  near  it." 


378  LOVE  MB  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  The  day  after  to-morrow,  nurse." 

"  There  now !  I  knew  your  birthday  could  not  be  far 
off.  Well,  then,  you  must  wait  till  you  are  of  age,  and 
then,  if  they  torment  you  or  put  on  you,  'Good  morning,' 
says  you ;  '  if  we  can't  agree  together,  let's  agree  to  part,' 
says  you." 

"  What !  leave  my  relations !  1" 

"  It  is  their  own  fault.  Good  friends  before  bad  kindred ! 
They  only  want  to  make  a  handle  of  you  to  get  'em  rich 
son-in-laws.  You  pluck  up  a  sperrit,  Miss  Lucy.  There's 
no  getting  through  the  world  without  a  bit  of  a  sperrit. 
You'll  get  put  upon  at  every  turn  else ;  and  if  they  don't 
vally  you  in  that  house,  why,  off  to  another ;  y'aint  chain- 
ed to  their  door,  I  do  suppose." 

"  But,  nurse,  a  young  lady  can  not  live  by  herself:  there 
is  no  instance  of  it." 

"  All  wisdom  had  a  beginning.  '  Oh !  sha'n't  I  spoil  the 
pudding  once  I  cut  it  ?'  quoth  Jack's  wife." 

"  What  would  people  say "?" 

"  What  could  they  say  ?  You  come  to  me,  which  I  am 
all  the  mother  you  have  got  left  upon  earth,  and  what  scan- 
dal could  they  make  out  of  that,  I  should  like  to  know. 
Let  them  try  it.  But  don't  let  me  catch  it  atween  their 
lips,  or  down  they  do  go  on  the  bare  ground,  and  their  caps 
in  pieces  to  the  winds  of  heaven ;"  and  she  flourished  her 
hand  and  a  massive  arm  with  a  gesture  free,  inspired,  and 
formidable. 

"  Ah !  nurse,  with  you  I  should  indeed  feel  safe  from 
every  ill.  But,  for  all  that,  I  shall  never  go  beyond  the 
usages  of  society.  I  shall  never  leave  my  aunt's  house." 

"I  don't  say  as  you  will.  But  I  shall  get  your  room 
ready  this  afternoon,  and  no  later." 

"No,  nurse,  you  must  not  do  that." 

"  Tell  ee  I  shall.  Then,  whether  you  come  or  not,  there 
'tis.  And  when  they  put  on  you,  you  have  no  call  to  fret. 
Says  you,  'There's  my  room  awaiting,  and  likewise  my 
welcome  too,  at  Dame  Wilson's ;  I  don't  need  to  stand  no 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         379 

more  nonsense  here  than  I  do  choose,'  says  you.  Dear 
heart!  even  a  little  foolish,  simple  thought  like  that  will 
help  keep  your  sperret  up.  You'll  see  else — jou'll  see." 

"  Oh,  nurse,  how  wise  you  are !  You  know  human  na- 
ture." 

"  Well,  I  am  older  than  you,  miss,  a  precious  sight ;  and 
if  I  hadn'  got  one  eye  open  at  this  time  of  day,  why,  when 
should  I,  you  know?" 

After  this,  a  little  home-made  wine  forcibly  administered, 
and  then  much  kissing,  and  Lucy  rode  away  revivified  and 
cheered,  and  quite  another  girl.  Her  spirits  rose  so  that 
she  proposed  to  Kenealy  to  extend  their  ride  by  crossing 
the  country  to .  She  wanted  to  buy  some  gloves. 

"  Yaas,"  said  the  assenter ;  and  off  they  cantered. 

In  the  glove-shop  who  should  Lucy  find  but  Eve  Dodd. 
She  held  out  her  hand,  but  Eve  affected  not  to  observe,  and 
bowed  distantly.  Lucy  would  not  take  the  hint.  After  a 
pause  she  said, 

"  Have  you  any  news  of  Mr.  Dodd?" 

"  I  have,"  was  the  stiff  reply. 

"  He  left  us  without  even  saying  good-by." 

"Did  he?" 

"  Yes,  after  saving  all  our  lives.  Need  I  say  that  we 
are  anxious,  in  our  turn,  to  hear  of  his  safety  ?  It  was  still 
very  tempestuous  when  he  left  us  to  catch  the  great  ship, 
and  he  was  in  an  open  boat." 

"  My  brother  is  alive,  Miss  Fountain,  if  that  is  what  you 
wish  to  know." 

"  Alive  ?  is  he  not  well "?  has  he  met  with  any  accident  ? 
any  misfortune  1  is  he  in  the  East  Indiaman  ?  has  he  writ- 
ten to  you  1" 

"  You  are  very  curious :  it  is  rather  late  in  the  day ;  but, 
if  I  am  to  speak  about  my  brother,  it  must  be  at  home,  and 
not  in  an  open  shop.  I  can't  trust  my  feelings." 

"  Are  you  going  home,  Miss  Dodd?" 

"Yes." 


380  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  Shall  I  come  with  you  ?" 

"If  you  like:  it  is  close  by." 

Lucy's  heart  quaked.  Eve  was  so  stern,  and  her  eyes 
like  basilisks'. 

"  Sit  down,  Miss  Fountain,  and  I  will  tell  you  what  you 
have  done  for  my  brother.  I  did  not  court  this,  you  know ; 
I  would  have  avoided  your  eye  if  I  could ;  it  is  your  doing." 

"  Yes,  Miss  Dodd,"  faltered  Lucy,  "  and  I  should  do  it 
again.  I  have  a  right  to  inquire  after  his  welfare  who 
saved  my  life." 

"  "Well,  then,  Miss  Fountain,  his  saving  your  life  has  lost 
him  his  ship  and  ruined  him  for  life." 

"Oh!" 

"  He  came  in  sight  of  the  ship,  but  the  captain,  that  was 
jealous  of  him  like  all  the  rest,  made  all  sail  and  ran  from 
him :  he  chased  her,  and  often  was  near  catching  her,  but 
she  got  clear  out  of  the  Channel,  and  my  poor  David  had  to 
come  back  disgraced,  ruined  for  life,  and  broken-hearted. 
The  Company  will  never  forgive  him  for  deserting  his  ship. 
His  career  is  blighted,  and  all  for  one  that  never  cared  a 
straw  for  him.  Oh,  Miss  Fountain,  it  was  an  evil  day  for 
my  poor  brother  when  first  he  saw  your  face  !"  Eve  would 
have  said  more,  for  her  heart  was  burning  with  wrath  and 
bitterness,  but  she  was  interrupted. 

Lucy  raised  both  her  hands  to  Heaven,  and  then,  bowing 
her  head,  wept  tenderly  and  humbly. 

A  woman's  tears  do  not  always  affect  another  woman ; 
but  one  reason  is,  they  are  very  often  no  sign  of  grief  or  of 
any  worthy  feeling.  The  sex,  accustomed  to  read  the  nicer 
shades  of  emotion,  distinguishes  tears  of  pique,  tears  of  dis- 
appointment, tears  of  spite,  tears  various,  from  tears  of  grief. 
But  Lucy's  was  a  burst  of  regret  so  sincere,  of  sorrow  and 
pity  so  tender  and  innocent,  that  it  fell  on  Eve's  hot  heart 
like  the  dew. 

"  Ah !  well,"  she  cried,  "  it  was  to  be,  it  was  to  be ;  and 
I  suppose  I  oughtn't  to  blame  you.  But  all  he  does  for  you 
tells  against  himself,  and  that  does  seem  hard ;  it  isn't  as  if 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  381 

he  and  you  were  any  thing  to  one  another,  then  I  shouldn't 
grudge  it  so  much.  He  has  lost  his  character  as  a  seaman." 

"Oh  dear!" 

"  He  valued  it  a  deal  more  than  his  life :  he  was  always 
ready  to  throw  THAT  away  for  you  or  any  body  else.  He 
has  lost  his  standing  in  the  service." 

"Oh!" 

"  You  see  he  has  no  interest,  like  some  of  them  :  he  only 
got  on  by  being  better  and  cleverer  than  all  the  rest ;  so 
the  Company  won't  listen  to  any  excuses  from  him,  and, 
indeed,  he  is  too  proud  to  make  them." 

"He  will  never  be  captain  of  a  ship  now?" 

"  Captain  of  a  ship  !  Will  he  ever  leave  the  bed  of  sick- 
ness he  lies  on "?" 

"  The  bed  of  sickness !  Is  he  ill  ?  Ob,  what  have  I 
done?" 

"  Is  he  ill  ?  What !  do  you  think  my  brother  is  made  of 
iron  ?  Out  all  night  with  you — then  off,  with  scarce  a  wink 
of  sleep ;  then  two  days  and  two  nights  chasing  the  Com- 
ber-mere, sometimes  gaining,  sometimes  losing,  and  his  credit 
and  his  good  name  hanging  on  it ;  then  to  beat  back  against 
wind,  heart-broken,  and  no  food  on  board — " 

"  Oh,  it  is  too  horrible." 

"  He  staggered  in  to  me,  white  as  a  ghost.  I  got  him  to 
bed :  he  was  in  a  burning  fever.  In  the  night  he  was  light- 
headed, and  all  his  talk  was  about  you.  He  kept  fretting 
lest  you  should  not  have  got  safe  home.  It  is  always  so. 
We  care  the  most  for  those  that  care  the  least  for  us." 

"  Is  he  in  the  Indiaman  ?" 

"No,  Miss  Fountain,  he  is  not  in  the  Indiaman,"  cried 
Eve,  her  wrath  suddenly  rising  again  ;  "  he  lies  there,  Miss 
Fountain,  in  that  room,  at  death's  door,  and  you  to  thank 
for  it." 

At  this  stab  Lucy  uttered  a  cry  like  a  wounded  deer. 
But  this  cry  was  followed  immediately  by  one  of  terror: 
the  door  opened  suddenly,  and  there  stood  David  Dodd, 
looking  as  white  as  his  sister  had  said,  but,  as  usual,  not  in 


882        LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

the  humor  to  succumb.  "  Me  at  death's  port,  did  you  say  ?" 
cried  he,  in  a  loud  tone  of  cheerful  defiance ;  "  tell  that  to 
the  marines  1 1" 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

"  I  HEARD  your  voice,  Miss  Lucy  ;  I  would  know  it 
among  a  million ;  so  I  rigged  myself  directly.  Why,  what 
is  the  matter "?" 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Dodd,"  sobbed  Lucy,  "  she  has  told  me  all  you 
have  gone  through,  and  I  am  the  wicked,  wicked  cause !" 

David  groaned.  "  If  I  didn't  think  as  much.  I  heard 
the  mill  going.  Ah !  Eve,  my  girl,  your  jawing-tackle  is 
too  well  hung.  Eve  is  a  good  sister  to  me,  Miss  Lucy,  and, 
where  I  am  concerned,  let  her  alone  for  making  a  mountain 
out  of  a  mole-hill.  If  you  believe  all  she  says,  you  are  to 
blame.  The  thing  that  went  to  my  heart  was  to  see  my 
skipper  run  out  his  stunsel  booms  the  moment  he  saw  me 
overhauling  him ;  it  was  a  dirty  action,  and  him  an  old 
shipmate.  I  am  glad  now  I  couldn't  catch  her,  for  if  I  had 
my  foot  would  not  have  been  on  the  deck  two  seconds  be- 
fore his  carcass  would  have  been  in  the  Channel.  And 
pray,  Eve,  what  has  Miss  Fountain  got  to  do  with  that  ? 
the  dirty  lubber  wasn't  bred  at  her  school,  or  he  would  not 
have  served  an  old  messmate  so.  Belay  all  that,  and  let's 
hear  something  worth  hearing.  Now,  Miss  Lucy,  you  tell 
me — oh  Lord,  Eve,  I  say,  isn't  the  thundering  old  dingy 
room  bright  now  ? — you  spin  me  your  own  yarn,  if  you  will 
be  so  good.  Here  you  are,  safe  and  sound,  the  Lord  be 
praised !  But  I  left  you  under  the  lee  of  that  thundering 
island :  wasn't  very  polite,  was  it  ?  but  you  will  excuse, 
won't  you  ?  Duty,  you  know — a  seaman  must  leave  his 
pleasure  for  his  duty.  Tell  me,  now,  how  did  you  come 
on?  Was  the  vessel  comfortable?  You  would  not  sail  till 
the  wind  fell?  Had  you  a  good  voyage?  A  tiresome  one, 
I  am  afraid :  the  sloop  wasn't  built  for  fast  sailing.  When 
did  you  land?" 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME   LONG.  383 

To  this  fire  of  eager  questions  Lucy  was  in  no  state  to 
answer.  "Oh  no,  Mr.  Dodd,"  she  cried,  "I  can't.  I  am 
choking.  Yes,  Miss  Dodd,  I  am  the  heartless,  unfeeling 
girl  you  think  me."  Then,  with  a  sudden  dart,  she  took 
David's  hand  and  kissed  it,  and  both  her  hands  hiding  her 
blushing  face,  she  fled,  and  a  single  sob  she  let  fall  at  the 
door  was  the  last  of  her.  So  sudden  was  her  exit,  it  left 
both  brother  and  sister  stupefied. 

"Eve,  she  is  offended,"  said  David,  with  dismay. 

"What  if  she  is?"  retorted  Eve ;  "  no,  she  is  not  offend- 
ed ;  but  I  have  made  her  feel  at  last,  and  a  good  job  too. 
Why  should  she  escape?  she  has  done  all  the  mischief. 
Come,  you  go  to  bed." 

"Not  I;  I  have  been  long  enough  on  my  beam-ends. 
And  I  have  heard  her  voice,  and  have  seen  her  face,  and 
they  have  put  life  into  me.  I  shall  cruise  about  the  port. 
I  have  gone  to  leeward  of  John  Company's  favor,  but  there 
are  plenty  of  coasting-vessels ;  I  may  get  the  command  of 
one.  I'll  try ;  a  seaman  never  strikes  his  flag  while  there's 
a  shot  in  the  locker." 

"Here,  put  me  up,  Captain  Kenealy!  Oh,  do  pray 
make  haste !  don't  dawdle  so !"  Off"  cantered  Lucy,  and 
fanned  her  pony  along  without  mercy.  At  the  door  of  the 
house  she  jumped  off  without  assistance,  and  ran  to  Mr. 
Bazalgette's  study  and  knocked  hastily,  and  that  gentleman 
was  not  a  little  surprised  when  this  unusual  visitor  came  to 
his  side  with  some  signs  of  awe  at  having  penetrated  his 
sanctum,  but  evidently  driven  by  an  overpowering  excite- 
ment. "  Oh,  vUncle  Bazalgette !  oh,  Uncle  Bazalgette !" 

"Why,  what  is  the  matter?  Why,  the  child  is  ill. 
Don't  gasp  like  that,  Lucy.  Come,  pluck  up  courage;  I 
am  sure  to  be  on  your  side,  you  know.  What  is  it?" 

"  Uncle,  you  are  always  so  kind  to  me ;  you  know  you 
are." 

"  Oh,  am  I  ?     Noble  old  fellow !" 

"  Oh,  don't  make  me  laugh !  ha !  ha !  oh !  oh !  oh !  ha ! 
oh!" 


884  IX>VE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  Confound  it,  I  have  sent  her  into  hysterics ;  no,  she  is 
coming  round.  Ten  thousand  million  devils,  has  any  body 
been  insulting  the  child  in  my  house?  They  have.  My 
wife,  for  a  guinea." 

"No, -no,  no.     It  is  about  Mr.  Dodd." 

"Mr.  Dodd?  oho!" 

"  I  have  ruined  him." 

"How  have  you  managed  that,  my  dear?" 

Then  Lucy,  all  in  a  flutter,  told  Mr.  Bazalgette  what  the 
reader  has  just  learned. 

He  looked  grave.  "  Lucy,"  said  he,  "  be  frank  with  me. 
Is  not  Mr.  Dodd  in  love  with  you  ?" 

"  1  will  be  frank  with  you,  dear  uncle,  because  you  are 
frank.  Poor  Mr.  Dodd  did  love  me  once;  but  I  refused 
him,  and  so  his  good  sense  and  manliness  cured  him  di- 
rectly." 

"  So,  now  that  he  no  longer  loves  you,  you  love  him : 
that  is  so  like  you  girls." 

"Oh  no,  uncle;  how  ridiculous!  If  I  loved  Mr.  Dodd 
I  could  repair  the  cruel  injuries  I  have  done  him  with  a 
single  word :  I  have  only  to  recall  my  refusal,  and  he — 
But  I  do  not  love  Mr.  Dodd.  Esteem  him  I  do,  and  he  has 
saved  my  life ;  and  is  he  to  lose  his  health,  and  his  charac- 
ter, and  his  means  of  honorable  ambition  for  that  ?  Do  you 
not  see  how  shocking  this  is,  and  how  galling  to  my  pride? 
Yes,  uncle,  I  have  been  insulted.  His  sister  told  me  to  my 
face  it  was  an  evil  day  for  him  when  he  and  I  first  met — 
that  was  at  Uncle  Fountain's." 

"  Well,  and  what  am  I  to  do,  Lucy  ?" 

"  Dear  uncle,  what  I  thought  was,  if  you  would  be  so 
kind  as  to  use  your  influence  with  the  Company  in  his  fa- 
vor :  tell  them  that  if  he  did  miss  his  ship  it  was  not  by  a 
fault,  but  by  a  noble  virtue ;  tell  them  that  it  was  to  save 
a  fellow-creature's  life — a  young  lady's  life — one  that  did 
not  deserve  it  from  him,  your  own  niece's ;  tell  them  it  is 
not  for  your  honor  he  should  be  disgraced.  Oh,  uncle,  you 
know  what  to  say  so  much  better  than  I  do." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  385 

Bazalgette  grinned,  and  straightway  resolved  to  perpe- 
trate a  practical  joke,  and  a  very  innocent  one.  "  Well," 
said  he,  "  the  best  way  I  can  think  of  to  meet  your  views 
will  be,  I  think,  to  get  him  appointed  to  the  new  ship  the 
Company  is  building." 

Lucy  opened  her  eyes,  and  the  blood  rushed  to  her  cheek. 
"  Oh,  uncle,  do  I  hear  right?  a  ship?  Are  you  so  power- 
ful ?  are  you  so  kind  ?  do  you  love  your  poor  niece  so  well 
as  all  this  ?  Oh,  Uncle  Bazalgette !" 

"  There  is  no  end  to  my  power,"  said  the  old  man,  sol- 
emnly ;  "  no  limit  to  my  goodness,  no  bounds  to  my  love 
for  my  poor  niece.  Are  you  in  a  hurry,  my  poor  niece? 
Shall  we  ha^e  his  commission  down  to-morrow,  or  wait  a 
month?" 

"To-morrow?  is  it  possible?  Oh  yes!  I  count  the 
minutes  till  I  say  to  his  sister,  '  There,  Miss  Dodd,  I  have 
friends  who  value  me  too  highly  to  let  me  lie  under  these 
galling  obligations.'  Dear,  dear  uncle,  I  don't  mind  being 
under  them  to  you,  because  I  love  you"  (kisses). 

"And  not  Mr.  Dodd?" 

"  No,  dear ;  and  that  is  the  reason  I  would  rather  give 
him  a  ship  than — the  only  other  thing  that  would  make 
him  happy.  And  really,  but  for  your  goodness,  I  should 
have  been  tempted  to — ha !  ha !  Oh  !  I  am  so  happy  now. 
No  ;  much  as  I  admire  my  preserver's  courage  and  delicacy, 
and  unselfishness,  and  goodness,  I  don't  love  him ;  so,  but 
for  this,  he  MUST  have  been  unhappy  for  life,  and  then  I 
should  have  been  miserable  forever." 

"  Perfectly  clear  and  satisfactory,  my  dear.  Now,  if  the 
commission  is  to  be  down  to-morrow,  you  must  not  stay 
here,  because  I  have  other  letters  to  write,  to  go  by  the 
same  courier  that  takes  my  application  for  the  ship." 

"  And  do  you  really  think  I  will  go  till  I  have  kissed 
you,  Uncle  Bazalgette?" 

"  On  a  subject  so  important,  I  hardly  venture  to  give  an 
opin — hallo!  kissing,  indeed?  Why,  it  is  like  a  young 
wolf  flying  at  horse-flesh." 

B 


386         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  Then  that  will  teach  you  not  to  be  kinder  to  me  than 
any  body  else  is." 

Lucy  ran  out  radiant  and  into  the  garden.  Here  she  en- 
countered Kenealy,  and  coming  on  him  with  a  blaze  of 
beauty  and  triumph  fired  a  resolution  that  had  smouldered 
in  him  a  day  or  two. 

He  twirled  his  mustache  and — popped  briefly. 


CHAPTER  XXHI. 

AFTER  the  first  start  of  rueful  astonishment,  the  indigna- 
tion of  the  just  fired  Lucy's  eyes. 

She  scolded  him  well.  "  Was  this  his  return  for  all  her 
late  kindness  ?" 

She  hinted  broadly  at  the  viper  of  JEsop,  and  indicated 
more  faintly  an  animal  that,  when  one  bestows  the  choicest 
favors  on  it,  turns  and  rends  one.  Then  becoming  suddenly 
just  to  the  brute  creation,  she  said,  "No,  it  is  only  your 
abominable  sex  that  would  behave  so  perversely,  so  un- 
gratefully." 

"  Don't  understand,"  drawled  Kenealy ;  "  I  thought  you 
would  laike  it." 

«  Well,  you  see,  I  don't  laike  it." 

"  You  seemed  to  be  getting  rather  spooney  on  me." 

"  Spooney  !  what  is  that1?  one  of  your  mess-room  terms, 
I  suppose." 

"  Yaas ;  so  I  thought  you  waunted  me  to  pawp." 

"  Captain  Kenealy,  this  subterfuge  is  unworthy  of  you. 
You  know  perfectly  well  why  I  distinguished  you.  Others 
pestered  me  with  their  attachments  and  nonsense,  and  you 
spared  me  that  annoyance.  In  return,  I  did  all  in  my 
power  to  show  you  the  grateful  friendship  I  thought  you 
worthy  of.  But  you  have  broken  faith  ;  you  have  violated 
the  clear,  though  tacit  understanding  that  subsisted  between 
us,  and  I  am  very  angry  with  you.  I  have  some  little  in- 
fluence left  with  my  aunt,  sir,  and,  unless  I  am  much  mis- 
taken, you  will  shortly  rejoin  the  army,  sir." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 


387 


"What  a  boa!  what  a  dem'd  boa!" 

"And  don't  swear;  that  is  another  foolish  custom  you 
gentlemen  have :  it  is  almost  as  foolish  as  the  other.  Yes, 
I'll  tell  my  aunt  of  you,  and  then  you  will  see." 

"  What  a  boa.!     How  horrid  spaiteful  you  are." 

"  Well,  I  am  rather  vindictive.  But  my  aunt  is  ten  times 
worse,  as  her  deserter  shall  find,  unless — " 

"Unless  whawf?" 

"  Unless  you  beg  my  pardon  directly." 

And  at  this  part  of  the  conversation  Lucy  was  fain  to 
turn  her  head  away,  for  she  found  it  getting  difficult  to 
maintain  that  severe  countenance  which  she  thought  neces- 
sary to  clothe  her  words  with  terror,  and  subjugate  the  gal- 
lant captain. 

"Well,  then,  I  apolojaize,"  said  Kenealy. 

"  And  I  accept  your  apology  ;  and  don't  do  it  again." 

"  I  won't,  'pon  honaa.  Look  heah :  I  swear  I  didn't 
mean  to  affront  yah  ;  I  don't  waunt  yah  to  mayrry  me ;  I 
only  proposed  out  of  civility." 

"  Come,  then,  it  was  not  so  black  as  it  appeared.  Court- 
esy is  a  good  thing ;  and  if  you  thought  that,  after  staying 
a  month  in  a  house,  you  were  bound  by  etiquette  to  pro- 
pose to  the  marriageable  part  of  it,  it  is  pardonable,  only 
don't  do  it  again, please" 

"  I'll  take  caa — I'll  take  caa.  I  say  your  tempaa  is  not 
— quite — what  those  other  fools  think  it  is — no,  by  Jove  ;" 
and  the  captain  glared. 

"  Nonsense ;  I  am  only  a  little  fiendish  on  this  one  point. 
Well,  then,  steer  clear  of  it,  and  you  will  find  me  a  good 
crechaa  on  every  other." 

Kenealy  vowed  he  would  profit  by  the  advice. 

"  Then  there  is  my  hand :  we  are  friends  again." 

"  You  won't  tell  your  aunt,  nor  the  other  fellaas  T' 

"  Captain  Kenealy,  I  am  not  one  of  your  garrison  ladies : 
I  am  a  young  person  who  has  been  educated ;  your  extra 
civility  will  never  be  known  to  a  soul ;  and  you  shall  not 
join  the  army  but  as  a  volunteer." 


388         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  Then,  dem  me,  Miss  Fountain,  if  I  wouldn't  be  cut  in 
pieces  to  oblaige  you.  Just  you  tray  me,  and  you'll  faind,  if 
I  am  not  very  braight,  I  am  a  man  of  honah.  If  those 
other  begaas  annoy  you,  jaast  tell  me,  and  I'll  parade  'em 
at  twelve  paces,  dem  me." 

"I  must  try  and  find  some  less  insane  vent  for  your 
friendly  feelings  ;  and  what  can  I  do  for  you  ?" 

"Yah  couldn't  go  on  pretending  to  be  spooney  on  me, 
could  yah  f ' 

"Oh  no,  no.     What  for?" 

"  I  laike  it ;  makes  the  other  begaas  misable." 

"  What  worthy  sentiments  !  it  is  a  sin  to  balk  them.  I 
am  sure  there  is  no  reason  why  I  should  not  appear  to 
adore  you  in  public,  so  long  as  you  let  me  keep  my  dis- 
tance in  private;  but  persons  of  my  sex  can  not  do  just 
what  they  would  like.  We  have  feelings  that  pull  us  this 
way  and  that,  and,  after  all  this,  I  am  afraid  I  shall  never 
have  the  courage  to  play  those  pranks  with  you  again  ;  and 
that  is  a  pity,  since  it  amused  you,  and  teased  those  that 
tease  me." 

In  short,  the  house  now  contained  two  "  holy  alliances" 
instead  of  one.  Unfortunately  for  Lucy,  the  hostile  one 
was  by  far  the  stronger  of  the  two ;  and  even  now  it  was 
preparing  a  terrible  coup. 

This  evening  the  storm  that  was  preparing  blew  good  to 
one  of  a  depressed  class  which  can  not  fail  to  gratify  the 
just. 

Mrs. Bazalgette.  "Jane,  come  to  my  room  a  minute;  I 
have  something  for  you.  Here  is  a  cashmere  gown  and 
cloak ;  the  cloak  I  want ;  I  can  wear  it  with  any  thing ; 
but  you  may  have  the  gown." 

"  Oh,  thank  you,  mum ;  it  is  beautiful,  and  a'most  as 
good  as  new.  I  am  sure,  mum,  I  am  very  much  obliged  to 
you  for  your  kindness." 

"  No,  no,  you  aje  a  good  girl,  and  a  sensible  girl.  By- 
the-by,  you  might  give  me  your  opinion  upon  something. 
Does  Miss  Lucy  prefer  any  one  of  our  guests  ?  You  un- 
derstand me." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  Well,  mum,  it  is  hard  to  say.  Miss  Lucy  is  as  re- 
served as  ever." 

"  Oh,  I  thought  she  might — ahem !" 

"No,  mum,  I  do  assure  you,  not  a  word." 

"Well,  but  you  are  a  shrewd  girl;  tell  me  what  you 
think :  now,  for  instance,  suppose  she  was  compelled  to 
choose  between,  say  Mr.  Hardie  and  Mr.  Talboys,  which 
would  it  be?" 

"  Well,  mum,  if  you  ask  my  opinion,  I  don't  think  Miss 
Lucy  is  the  one  to  marry  a  fool ;  and,  by  all  accounts,  there's 
a  deal  more  in  Mr.  Hardies's  head  than  what  there  isn't  in 
Mr.  Talboysese's." 

"You  are  a  clever  girl.  You  shall  have  the  cloak  as 
well,  and,  if  my  niece  marries,  you  shall  remain  in  her  serv- 
ice all  the  same." 

"  Thank  you  kindly,  mum.  I  don't  desire  no  better  mis- 
tress, married  or  single ;  and  Mr.  Hardies  is  much  respect- 
ed in  the  town,  and  heaps  o'  money ;  so  miss  and  me  we 
couldn't  do  no  better,  neither  of  us.  Your  servant,  mum, 
and  thanks  you  for  your  bounty ;"  and  Jane  courtesied  twice 
and  went  off  with  the  spoils. 

In  the  corridor  she  met  old  Fountain.  "  Stop,  Jane," 
said  he,  "  I  want  to  speak  to  you." 

"At  your  service,  sir." 

"  In  the  first  place,  I  want  to  give  you  something  to  buy 
a  new  gown,"  and  he  took  out  a  couple  of  sovereigns. 
"  Where  am  I  to  put  them  ?  in  your  breast  pocket  ?" 

"  Put  them  under  the  cloak,  sir,"  murmured  Jane,  ten- 
derly. She  loved  sovereigns. 

He  put  his  hand  under  the  heap  of  cashmere,  and  a  quick  lit- 
tle claw  hit  the  coins  and  closed  on  them  by  almighty  instinct. 

"  Now  I  want  to  ask  your  opinion.  Is  my  niece  in  love 
with  any  one  ?" 

"  Well,  Mr.  Fountains,  if  she  is  she  don't  show  it." 

"But  doesn't  she  like  one  man  better  than  another?" 

"You  may  take  your  oath  of  that,  if  we  could  but  get 
to  her  mind." 


890  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"Which  does  she  like  best,  this  Hardie  or  Mr.  Talboys? 
Coine,  tell  me,  now." 

"  Well,  sir,  you  know  Mr.  Talboys  is  an  old  acquaint- 
ance, and  like  brother  and  sister  at  Font  Abbey.  I  do  sup- 
pose she  have  been  a  score  of  times  alone  with  him  for  one 
with  Mr.  Hardies.  That  she  should  take  up  with  a  stran- 
ger and  jilt  an  old  acquaintance,  now  is  it  feasible?" 

"  Why,  of  course  not.  It  was  a  foolish  question  ;  you 
are  a  young  woman  of  sense.  Here's  a  £5  note  for  you : 
you  must  not  tell  I  spoke  to  you." 

"  Now  is  it  likely,  sir  ?  My  character  would  be  broken 
forever." 

"  And  you  shall  be  with  my  niece  when  she  is  Mrs.  Tal- 
boys." 

"  I  might  do  worse,  sir,  and  so  might  she.     He  is  re- 
spected far  and  wide,  and  a  grand  house,  and  a  carriage 
and  four,  and  every  thing   to  make  a  lady  comfortable. 
Your  servant,  sir,  and  wishes  you  many  thanks." 
"And  such  as  Jane  was,  all  true  servants  are." 

The  ancients  used  to  bribe  the  oracle  of  Delphi.  Curi- 
ous. " 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

LUCY'S  twenty-first  birthday  dawned,  but  it  was  not  to 
her  the  gay  exulting  day  it  is  to  some.  Last  night  her  un- 
cle and  aunt  had  gone  a  step  farther,  and,  instead  of  kiss- 
ing her  ceremoniously,  had  evaded  her.  They  were  draw- 
ing matters  to  a  climax  :  once  of  age,  each  day  would  make 
her  more  independent  in  spirit  as  in  circumstances.  This 
morning  she  hoped  custom  would  shield  her  from  unkind- 
ness  for  one  day  at  least.  But  no,  they  made  it  clear  there 
was  but  one  way  back  to  their  smiles.  Their  congratula- 
tions at  the  breakfast-table  were  cold  and  constrained ;  her 
heart  fell ;  and  long  before  noon  on  her  birthday  she  was 
crying.  Thus  weakened,  she  had  to  encounter  a  thorough- 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  391 

ly-prepafed  attack.  Mr.  Bazalgette  summoned  her  to  his 
study  at  one  o'clock,  and  there  she  found  him,  and  Mrs. 
Bazalgette,  and  Mr.  Fountain  seated  solemnly  in  conclave. 
The  merchant  was  adding  up  figures. 

"  Come,  now,  business,"  said  he.  "  Dick  has  added  them 
up :  his  figures  are  in  that  envelope ;  break  the  seal  and  open 
it,  Lucy.  If  his  total  corresponds  with  mine,  we  are  right ; 
if  not,  I  am  wrong,  and  you  will  all  have  to  go  over  it  with 
me  till  we  are  right."  A  general  groan  followed  this  an- 
nouncement. Luckily,  the  sum  totals  corresponded  to  a 
fraction. 

Then  Mr.  Bazalgette  made  Lucy  a  little  speech. 

"  My  dear,  in  laying  down  that  office  which  your  amiable 
nature  has  rendered  so  agreeable,  I  feel  a  natural  regret  on 
your  account  that  the  property  my  colleague  there  and  I 
have  had  to  deal  with  on  your  account  has  not  been  more 
important.  However,  as  far  as  it  goes,  we  have  been  for- 
tunate. Consols  have  risen  amazingly  since  we  took  you 
off  land  and  funded  you.  The  rise  in  value  of  your  little 
capital  since  your  mother's  death  is  calculated  on  this  card. 
You  have  also  some  loose  cash,  which  I  will  hand  over  to 
you  immediately.  Let  me  see — eleven  hundred  and  sixty 
pounds  and  five  shillings.  Write  your  name  in  full  on  that 
paper,  Lucy." 

He  touched  a  bell :  a  servant  came.  He  wrote  a  line, 
and  folded  it,  inclosing  Lucy's  signature. 

"  Let  this  go  to  Mr.  Hardie's  bank  immediately.  Hardie 
will  give  you  three  per  cent,  for  your  money.  Better  than 
nothing.  You  must  have  a  check-book.  He  sent  me  a  new 
one  yesterday.  Here  it  is ;  you  shall  have  it.  I  wonder 
whether  you  know  how  to  draw  a  check  ?" 

"  No,  uncle." 

"Look  here,  then.  You  note  the  particulars  first  on 
this  counter-foil,  which  thus  serves  in  some  degree  for  an 
account-book.  In  drawing  the  check,  place  the  sum  in  let- 
ters close  to  these  printed  words,  and  the  sum  in  figures 
close  to  the  £.  For  want  of  this  precaution,  the  holder 


392         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

of  the  check  has  been  known  to  turn  a  £10  check  into 
£110." 

"  Oh,  how  wicked  !" 

"  Mind  what  you  say.  Dexterity  is  the  only  virtue  left 
in  England ;  so  we  must  be  on  our  guard,  especially  in  what 
we  write  with  our  name  attached." 

"  I  must  say,  Mr.  Bazalgette,  you  are  unwise  to  put  such 
a  sum  of  money  into  a  young  girl's  hands." 

"  The  young  girl  has  been  a  woman  an  hour  and  ten 
minutes,  and  come  into  her  property,  movables,  and  cash 
aforesaid." 

"  If  you  were  her  real  friend,  you  would  take  care  of  her 
money  for  her  till  she  marries." 

"The  eighth  commandment,  my  dear,  the  eighth  com- 
mandment, and  other  primitive  axioms :  suum  cuique,  and 
such  odd  sayings  :  'Him  as  keeps  what  isn't  his'n,  soon  or 
late  shall  go  to  prison  ;'  with  similar  apothegms.  Total : 
let  us  keep  the  British  merchant  and  the  Newgate  thief  as 
distinct  as  the  times  permit.  Fountain  and  Bazalgette,  ac- 
count squared,  books  closed,  and  I'm  off?" 

"  Oh,  uncle,  pray  stay !"  said  Lucy.  "  When  you  are 
by  me,  Kectitude  and  Sense  seem  present  in  person,  and  I 
can  lean  on  them." 

"  Lean  on  yourself;  the  law  has  cut  your  leading-strings : 
why  patch  'em ?  It  has  made  you  a  woman  from  a  baby. 
Rise  to  your  new  rank.  Rectitude  and  Sense  are  just  as  much 
wanted  in  the  town  of  — • — ,  where  I  am  due,  as  they  are 
in  this  house.  Besides,  Sense  has  spoken  uninterrupted  for 
ten  minutes;  prodigious!  so  now  it  is  Nonsense's  turn  for 
the  next  ten  hours."  He  made  for  the  door ;  then  suddenly 
returning,  said,  "  I  will  leave  a  grain  of  sense,  etc.,  behind 
me.  What  is  marriage?  Do  you  give  it  up?  Marriage 
is  a  contract.  Who  are  the  parties  ?  the  papas,  and  mam- 
mas, uncles  and  aunts?  by  George,  you  would  think  so  to 
hear  them  talk.  No,  the  contract  is  between  two  parties, 
and  these  two  only.  It  is  a  printed  contract.  Any  body 
can  read  it  gratis.  None  but  idiots  sign  a  contract  with- 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  393 

out  reading  it ;  none  but  knaves  sign  a  contract  which,  hav- 
ing read,  they  find  they  can  not  execute.  Matrimony  is  a 
mercantile  affair ;  very  well,  then,  import  into  it  sound  mer- 
cantile morality.  Go  to  market ;  sell  well ;  but  d — n  it 
all,  deliver  the  merchandise  as  per  sample,  viz.,  a  woman 
warranted  to  love,  honor,  and  obey  the  purchaser.  If  you 
swindle  the  other  contracting  party  in  the  essentials  of  the 
contract,  don't  complain  when  you  are  unhappy.  Are  shuf- 
flers entitled  te  happiness?  and  what  are  those  who  shuffle 
and  prevaricate  in  a  church  any  better  than  those  who  shuffle 
and  prevaricate  in  a  counting-house  ?"  and  the  brute  bolted. 

"My  husband  is  a  worthy  man,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette, 
languidly,  "  but  now  and  then  he  makes  me  blush  for  him." 

"  Our  good  friend  is  a  humorist,"  replied  Fountain, 
good-humoredly,  "and  dearly  loves  a  paradox;"  and  they 
pooh-poohed  him  without  a  particle  of  malice. 

Then  Mrs.  Bazalgette  turned  to  Lucy,  and  hoped  that 
she  did  her  the  justice  to  believe  she  had  none  but  affec- 
tionate motives  in  wishing  to  see  her  speedily  established. 

"  Oh  no,  aunt,"  said  Lucy.  "  Why  should  you  wish  to 
part  with  me?  I  give  but  little  trouble  in  your  great 
house." 

"Trouble,  child?  you  know  you  are  a  comfort  to  have 
in  any  house." 

This  pleased  Lucy ;  it  was  the  first  gracious  word  for  a 
long  time.  Having  thus  softened  her,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  pro- 
ceeded to  attack  her  by  all  the  weaknesses  of  her  sex  and 
age,  and  for  a  good  hour  pressed  her  so  hard  that  the  tears 
often  gushed  from  Lucy's  eyes  over  her  red  cheeks.  The 
girl  was  worn  by  the  length  of  the  struggle  and  the  perti- 
nacity of  the  assault.  She  was  as  determined  as  ever  to  do 
nothing,  but  she  had  no  longer  the  power  to  resist  in  words. 
Seeing  her  reduced  to  silence,  and  not  exactly  distinguish- 
ing between  impassibility  and  yielding,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  de- 
livered the  coup-de-grace. 

"  I  must  now  tell  you  plainly,  Lucy,  that  your  character 
is  compromised  by  being  out  all  night  with  persons  of  the 
E2 


394         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

other  sex.  I  would  have  spared  you  this,  but  your  resist- 
ance compels  those  who  love  you  to  tell  you  all.  Owing  to 
that  unfortunate  trip,  you  are  in  such  a  situation  that  you 
must  marry." 

"The  world  is  surely  not  so  unjust  as  all  this,"  sighed 
Lucy. 

"You  don't  know  the  world  as  I  do,"  was  the  reply. 
"  And  those  who  live  in  it  can  not  defy  it.  I  tell  you 
plainly,  Lucy,  neither  your  uncle  nor  I  can  keep  you  any 
longer,  except  as  an  engaged  person.  And  even  that  en- 
gagement ought  to  be  a  very  short  one." 

"What,  aunt?  what,  uncle?  your  house  is  no  longer 
mine  ?"  and  she  buried  her  head  upon  the  table. 

"Well,  Lucy,"  said  Mr.  Fountain,  "of  course  we  would 
not  have  told  you  this  yesterday.  It  would  have  been  un- 
generous. But  you  are  now  your  own  mistress ;  you  are 
independent.  Young  persons  in  your  situation  can  gener- 
ally forget  in  a  day  or  two  a  few  years  of  kindness.  You 
have  now  an  opportunity  of  showing  us  whether  you  are 
one  of  that  sort." 

Here  Mrs.  Bazalgette  put  in  her  word. 

"  You  will  not  lack  people  to  encourage  you  in  ingrati- 
tude— perhaps  my  husband  himself;  but  if  he  does,  it  will 
make  a  lasting  breach  between  him  and  me,  of  which  you 
will  have  been  the  cause." 

"Heaven  forbid!"  said  Lucy,  with  a  shudder.  "Why 
should  dear  Mr.  Bazalgette  be  drawn  into  my  troubles "? 
He  is  no  relation  of  mine,  only  a  loyal  friend,  whom  may 
God  bless  and  reward  for  his  kindness  to  a  poor  fatherless, 
motherless  girl.  Aunt,  uncle,  if  you  will  let  me  stay  with 
you,  I  will  be  more  kind,  more  attentive  to  you  than  I  have 
been.  Be  persuaded ;  be  advised.  If  you  succeeded  in  get- 
ting rid  of  me,  you  might  miss  me,  indeed  you  might.  I 
know  all  your  little  ways  so  well." 

"Lucy,  we  are  not  to  be  tempted  to  do  wrong,"  said 
Mrs.  Bazalgette,  sternly.  "  Choose  which  of  these  two  of- 
fers you  will  accept.  Choose  which  you  please.  If  you 


IX) VE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  395 

refuse  both,  you  must  pack  up  your  things,  and  go  and  live 
by  yourself,  or  with  Mr.  Dodd." 

"Mr.  Dodd?  why  is  his  name  introduced?  Was  it  nec- 
essary to  insult  me  ?"  and  her  eyes  flashed. 

"Nobody  wishes  to  insult  you,  Lucy.  And  I  propose, 
madam,  we  give  her  a  day  to  consider." 

"Thank  you,  uncle." 

"  With  all  my  heart ;  only,  until  she  decides,  she  must 
excuse  me  if  I  do  not  treat  her  with  the  same  affection  as 
I  used,  and  as  I  hope  to  do  again.  I  am  deeply  wounded, 
and  I  am  one  that  can  not  feign." 

"  You  need  not  fear  me,  aunt ;  my  heart  is  turned  to  ice. 
I  shall  never  intrude  that  love  on  which  you  set  no  value. 
May  I  retire  ?" 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  looked  to  Mr.  Fountain,  and  both  bow- 
ed acquiescence.  Lucy  went  out  pale,  but  dry  eyed ;  de- 
spair never  looked  so  lovely,  or  carried  its  head  more 
proudly. 

"I  don't  like  it,"  said  Mr.  Fountain.  "I  am  afraid  we 
have  driven  the  poor  girl  too  hard." 

"  What  are  you  afraid  of,  pray  ?" 

"  She  looked  to  me  just  like  a  woman  who  would  go  and 
take  an  ounce  of  laudanum.  Poor  Lucy !  she  has  been  a 
good  niece  to  me,  after  all ;"  and  the  water  stood  in  the 
old  bachelor's  eyes. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  tapped  him  on  the  shoulder,  and  said 
archly,  but  with  a  tone  that  carried  conviction,  "  She  will 
take  no  poison.  She  will  hate  us  for  an  hour;  then  she 
will  have  a  good  cry;  to-morrow  she  will  come  to  our 
terms ;  and  this  day  next  year  she  will  be  very  much 
obliged  to  us  for  doing  what  all  women  like,  forcing  her  to 
her  good  with  a  little  harshness." 


396  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

SAID  Lucy  as  she  went  from  the  door,  (i  Thank  heaven, 
they  have  insulted  me!" 

This  does  not  sound  logical,  but  that  is  only  because  the 
logic  is  so  subtle  and  swift.  She  meant  something  of  this 
kind :  "  I  am  of  a  yielding  nature ;  I  might  have  sacrificed 
myself  to  retain  their  affection ;  but  they  have  roused  a 
vice  of  mine,  my  pride,  against  them,  so  now  I  shall  be  im- 
movable in  right,  thanks  to  my  wicked  pride.  Thank 
heaven,  they  have  insulted  me!"  She  then  laid  her  head 
upon  her  bed  and  moaned,  for  she  was  stricken  to  the  heart. 
Then  she  rose  and  wrote  a  hasty  note,  and,  putting  it  in  her 
bosom,  came  down  stairs  and  looked  for  Captain  Kenealy. 
He  proved  to  be  in  the  billiard-room,  playing  the  spotted 
ball  against  the  plain  one.  "Oh,  Captain  Kenealy,  I  am 
come  to  try  your  friendship ;  you  said  I  might  command 
you." 

"Yaas!" 

.  "  Then  will  you  mount  my  pony  and  ride  with  this  to 
Mrs.  Wilson,  to  that  farm  where  I  kept  you  waiting  so  long, 
and  you  were  not  angry,  as  any  one  else  would  have  been." 

"Yaas!" 

"  But  not  a  soul  must  see  it,  or  know  where  you  are 
gone." 

"  All  raight,  Miss  Fountain.  Don't  you  be  fraightened ; 
I'm  close  as  the  grave,  and  I'll  be  there  in  less  than  haelf 
an  hour." 

"  Yes ;  but  don't  hurt  my  dear  pony  either ;  don't  beat 
him ;  and,  above  all,  don't  come  back  without  an  answer." 

"  I'll  bring  you  an  answer  in  an  hour  and  twenty  min- 
utes." The  captain  looked  at  his  watch,  and  went  out 
with  a  smartness  that  contrasted  happily  with  his  slowness 
of  speech. 


LOVE   ME   UTTLEj  LOVE   ME   LONG.  397 

Lucy  went  back  to  her  own  room  and  locked  herself  in, 
and  with  trembling  hands  began  to  pack  up  her  jewels  and 
some  of  her  clothes.  But  when  it  came  to  this,  wounded 
pride  was  sorely  taxed  by  a  host  of  reminiscences  and  ten- 
der regrets,  and  every  now  and  then  the  tears  suddenly 
gushed  and  fell  upon  her  poor  hands  as  she  put  things  out, 
or  patted  them  flat,  to  wander  on  the  world. 

While  she  is  thus  sorrowfully  employed,  let  me  try  and 
give  an  outline  of  the  feelings  that  had  now  for  some  time 
been  secretly  growing  in  her,  since  without  their  co-opera- 
tion she  would  never  have  been  driven  to  the  strange  step 
she  now  meditated. 

Lucy  was  a  very  unselfish  and  very  intelligent  girl.  The 
first  trait  had  long  blinded  her  to  something ;  the  second 
had  lately  helped  to  open  her  eyes. 

If  ever  you  find  a  person  quick  to  discover  selfishness  in 
others,  be  sure  that  person  is  selfish ;  for  it  is  only  the  self- 
ish who  come  into  habitual  collision  with  selfishness,  and 
feel  how  sharp-pointed  a  thing  it  is.  When  Unselfish  meets 
Selfish,  each  acts  after  his  kind ;  Unselfish  gives  way,  Self- 
ish holds  his  course,  and  so  neither  is  thwarted,  and  neither 
finds  out  the  other's  character. 

Lucy,  then,  of  herself,  would  never  have  discovered  her 
relatives'  egotism.  But  they  helped  her,  and  she  was  too 
bright  not  to  see  any  thing  that  was  properly  pointed  out 
to  her. 

When  Fountain  kept  showing  and  proving  Mrs.  Bazal- 
gette's  egotism,  and  Mrs.  Bazalgette  kept  showing  and 
proving  Mr.  Fountain's  egotism,  Lucy  ended  by  seeing  both 
their  egotisms  as  clearly  as  either  could  desire ;  and,  as  she 
despised  egotism,  she  lost  her  respect  for  both  these  people, 
and  let  them  convince  her  they  were  both  persons  against 
whom  she  must  be  on  her  guard. 

This  was  the  direct  result  of  their  mines  and  counter- 
mines heretofore  narrated,  but  not  the  only  result.  It  fol- 
lowed indirectly,  but  inevitably,  that  the  present  holy  alli- 
ance failed.  Lucy  had  not  forgotten  the  past ;  and  to  her 


398         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

this  seemed  not  a  holy,  but  an  unholy,  hollow,  and  empty 
alliance. 

"  They  hate  one  another,"  said  she,  "  but  it  seems  they 
hate  me  worse,  since  they  can  hide  their  mutual  dislike  to 
combine  against  poor  me." 

Another  thing :  Lucy  was  one  of  those  women  who  thirst 
for  love,  and,  though  not  vain  enough  to  be  always  showing 
they  think  they  ought  to  be  beloved,  have  quite  secret 
amour  propre  enough  to  feel  at  the  bottom  of  their  hearts 
that  they  were  sent  here  to  that  end,  and  that  it  is  a  folly 
and  a  shame  not  to  love  them  more  or  less. 

If  ever  Madame  Eistori  plays  "Maria  Stuarda"  within  a 
mile  of  you,  go  and  see  her.  Don't  chatter:  you  can  do 
that  at  home;  attend  to  the  scene;  the  worst  play  ever 
played  is  not  so  unimproving  as  chit-chat.  Then,  when  the 
scaffold  is  even  now  erected,  and  the  poor  queen,  pale  and 
tearful,  palpitates  in  death's  grasp,  you  shall  see  her  sud- 
denly illumined  with  a  strange  joy,  and  hear  her  say,  with 
a  marvelous  burst  of  feminine  triumph, 

"I  have  been  amata  molto ///" 

Uttered,  under  a  scaffold,  as  the  Italian  utters  it,  this  line  is 
a  revelation  of  womanhood. 

The  English  virgin  of  our  humbler  tale  had  a  soul  full  of 
this  feeling,  only  she  had  never  learned  to  set  the  love  of 
sex  above  other  loves  ;  but,  mark  you,  for  that  very  reason, 
a  mortal  insult  to  her  heart  from  her  beloved  relatives  was 
as  mortifying,  humiliating,  and  unpardonable  as  is,  to  oth- 
•?r  high-spirited  girls,  an  insult  from  their  favored  lover. 

What  could  she  do  more  than  she  had  done  to  win  their 
love  ?  No,  their  hearts  were  inaccessible  to  her. 

"  They  wish  to  get  rid  of  me :  well,  they  shall.  They  re- 
fuse me  their  houses :  well,  I  will  show  them  the  value  of 
their  houses  to  me.  It  was  their  hearts  I  clung  to,  not 
their  houses." 

A  tap  came  to  Lucy's  door. 
"Who  is  that?     I  am  busy." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         399 

"Oh,  miss!"  said  an  agitated  voice,  "may  I  speak  to 
you — the  captain !" 

"What  captain?"  inquired  Lucy,  without  opening  the 
door. 

"  Knealys,  miss." 

"  I  will  come  out  to  you.  Now.  Has  Captain  Kenealy 
returned  already?" 

"La!  no,  miss.  He  haven't  been  any  where  as  I  know 
of.  He  had  them  about  him  as  couldn't  spare  him." 

"Something  is  the  matter,  Jane.     What  is  it?" 

Jane  lowered  her  voice  mysteriously.  "Well,  miss,  the 
captain  is — in  trouble." 

"  Oh  dear,  what  has  happened?" 

"  Well,  the  fact  is,  miss,  the  captain's — took." 

"  I  can  not  understand  you.     Pray  speak  intelligibly." 

11  Arrested,  miss." 

"Captain  Kenealy  arrested!  Oh  heaven!  for  what 
crime?" 

"  La,  miss,  no  crime  at  all — leastways  not  so  considered 
by  the  gentry.  He  is  only  took  in  payment  of  them  beau- 
tiful reg-mentals.  However,  black  or  red,  he  is  alway  well 
put  on.  I  am  sure  he  looks  just  out  of  a  band-box ;  and  I 
got  it  all  out  of  one  of  the  men  as  it's  a  army  tailor,  which 
he  wrote  again  and  again,  and  sent  his  bill,  and  the  captain 
he  took  no  notice ;  then  the  tailor  he  sent  him  a  writ,  and 
the  captain  he  took  no  notice  ;  then  the  tailor  he  lawed  him, 
but  the  captain  he  kep  on  a  taking  no  more  notice  nor  if  it 
was  a  dog  a  barking,  and  then  a  putting  all  them  ere  barks 
one  after  another  in  a  letter,  and  sending  them  by  the  post ; 
so  the  end  is,  the  captain  is  arrested ;  and  now  he  behooves 
to  attend  a  bit  to  what  is  a  going  on  around  an  about  him, 
as  the  saying  is,  and  so  he  is  waiting  to  pay  you  his  respects 
before  he  starts  for  Bridewell." 

"  My  fatal  advice !     I  ruin  all  my  friends." 

"Keep  dark,"  says  he;  "don't  tell  a  soul  except  Miss 
Fountain." 

"Where  is  he?     Oh!" 


400         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

Jane  offered  to  show  her  that,  and  took  her  to  the  stable- 
yard.  Arriving  with  a  face  full  of  tender  pity  and  concern, 
Lucy  was  not  a  little  surprised  to  find  the  victim  smoking 
cigars  in  the  centre  of  his  smoking  captors.  The  men 
touched  their  hats,  and  Captain  Kenealy  said,  "Isn't  it  a 
boa,  Miss  Fountain  ?  they  won't  let  me  do  your  little  com- 
mission. In  London  they  will  go  any  where  with  a  fellaa." 

"London  ve  knows,"  explained  the  assistant,  "but  this 
here  is  full  of  hins  and  houts,  and  folyidge." 

"  Oh,  sir,"  cried  Lucy  to  the  best-dressed  captor,  "  surely 
you  will  not  be  so  cruel  as  to  take  a  gentleman  like  Captain 
Kenealy  to  prison?" 

"Very  sorry,  marm,  but  we  ave  no  hoption:  takes  'em 
every  day ;  don't  we,  Bill  ?" 

Bill  nodded. 

"But,  sir,  as  it  is  only  for  money,  can  you  not  be  in- 
duced by — by — money — " 

"Bill,  lady's  going  to  pay  the  debtancosts.  Show  her 
the  ticket.  Debt  eighty  pund,  costs  seven  pund  eighteen 
six." 

"  What !  will  you  liberate  him  if  I  pay  you  eighty-eight 
pounds  ?" 

"  Well,  marm,  to  oblige  you  we  will ;  won't  we,  Bill  ?" 
He  winked.  Bill  nodded. 

"Then  pray  stay  here  a  minute,  and  this  shall  be  ar- 
ranged to  your  entire  satisfaction ;"  and  she  glided  swiftly 
away,  followed  by  Jane,  wriggling. 

"  Quite  the  lady,  Bill." 

"  Kevite.  Captn  is  in  luck.  Hare  ve  to  be  at  the  ved- 
ding,  capn  V 

"  Dem  your  impudence !     I'll  cross-buttock  yah !" 

"Hold  your  tongue,  Bill — queering  a  gent.  Draw  it 
mild,  captain.  Debtancosts  ain't  paid  yet.  Here  they 
come,  though." 

Lucy  returned  swiftly,  holding  aloft  a  slip  of  paper. 
"There,  sir,  that  is  a  check  for  £90:  it  is  the  same  thing 
as  money,  you  are  doubtless  aware."  The  man  took  it  and 
inspected  it  keenly. 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  401 

"Very  sorry,  marm,  but  can't  take  it.  It's  a  lady's 
check." 

"What!  is  it  not  written  properly?" 

"  Beautiful,  marm.  But  when  we  takes  these  beautiful- 
wrote  checks  to  the  bank,  the  cry  is  always  '  No  assets.'  " 

"But  Uncle  Bazalgette  said  every  body  would  give  me 
money  for  it." 

"  What !  is  Mr.  Bazalgette  your  uncle,  marm  ?  then  you 
go  to  him,  and  get  his  check  in  place  of  yours,  and  the  cap 
tain  will  be  free  as  the  birds  in  the  hair." 

"  Oh !  thank  you,  sir,"  cried  Lucy,  and  the  next  minute 
she  was  in  Mr.  Bazalgette's  study.  "  Uncle,  don't  be  angry 
with  me  ;  it  is  for  no  unworthy  purpose  ;  only  don't  ask  me  ; 
it  might  mortify  another;  but  would  you  give  me  a  check 
of  your  own  for  mine  ?  They  will  not  receive  mine." 

Mr.  Bazalgette  looked  grave,  and  even  sad ;  but  he  sat 
quietly  down  without  a  word,  and  drew  her  a  check,  taking 
hers,  which  he  locked  in  his  desk.  The  tears  were  in  Lucy's 
eyes  at  his  gravity  and  his  delicacy.  "  Some  day  I  will  tell 
you,"  said  she.  "  I  have  nothing  to  reproach  myself,  in- 
deed— indeed." 

"  Make  the  rogue— or  jade — give  you  a  receipt,"  groaned 
Bazalgette. 

"All  right,  marm,  this  time.  Captain,  the  world  it's 
hall  before  you  where  to  chewse.  But  this  is  for  ninety, 
marm ;"  and  he  put  his  hand  very  slowly  into  his  pocket. 

"Do  me  the  favor  to  keep  the  rest  for  your  trouble, 
sir." 

"Trouble's  a  pleasure,  marm.  It  is  not  often  we  gets  a 
tip  for  taking  a  gent.  Ye  are  funk  shin  hairies  as  is  not 
depreciated,  mam,  and  the  more  genteel  we  takes  'em  the 
rougher  they  cuts ;  and  the  very  women  no  more  like  you 
nor  dark  to  light ;  but  flies  at  us  like  ryal  Bengal  tigers, 
through  taking  of  us  for  the  creditors." 

"  Verehas  we  hare  honly  servants  of  the  ke  veen,"  sug- 
gested No.  2,  hashing  his  mistress's  English. 


402         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  Stow  your  gab,  Bill,  and  mizzle.  Let  the  captain  thank 
the  lady.  Good-day,  marm." 

"Oh,  my  poor  friend,  what  language!  and  my  ill  advice 
threw  you  into  their  company !" 

Captain  Kenealy  told  her,  in  his  brief  way,  that  the  cir- 
cumstance was  one  of  no  import,  except  in  so  far  as  it  had 
impeded  his  discharge  of  his  duty  to  her.  He  then  mount- 
ed the  pony,  which  had  been  waiting  for  him  more  than 
half  an  hour. 

"  But  it  is  five  o'clock,"  said  Lucy ;  "  you  will  be  too  late 
for  dinner." 

"Dinner  be  dem — d,"  drawled  the  man  of  action,  and 
rode  off  like  a  flash. 

"  It  is  to  be,  then,"  said  Lucy,  and  her  heart  ebbed.  It 
had  ebbed  and  flowed  a  good  many  times  in  the  last  hour 
or  two. 

Captain  Kenealy  reappeared  in  the  middle  of  dinner. 
Lucy  scanned  his  face,  but  it  was  like  the  outside  of  a 
copy-book,  and  she  was  on  thorns.  Being  too  late,  he  lost 
his  place  near  her  at  dinner,  and  she  could  not  whisper  to 
him.  However,  when  the  ladies  retired  he  opened  the 
door,  and  Lucy  let  fall  a  word  at  his  feet:  "Come  up  be- 
fore the  rest." 

Acting  on  this  order,  Kenealy  came  up,  and  found  Lucy 
playing  sad  tunes  softly  on  the  piano,  and  Mrs.  Bazalgette 
absent.  She  was  trying  something  on  up  stairs.  He  gave 
Lucy  a  note  from  Mrs.  Wilson.  She  opened  it,  and  the  joy- 
ful color  suffused  her  cheek,  and  she  held  out  her  hand  to 
him ;  but,  as  she  turned  her  head  away  mighty  prettily  at 
the  same  time,  she  did  not  see  the  captain  was  proffering  a 
second  document,  and  she  was  a  little  surprised  when,  in- 
stead of  a  warm  grasp,  all  friendship  and  no  love,  a  piece 
of  paper  was  shoved  into  her  delicate  palm.  She  took  it ; 
looked  first  at  Kenealy,  then  at  it,  and  was  sore  puzzled. 

The  document  was  in  Kenealy's  handwriting,  and  at  first 
Lucy  thought  it  must  be  intended  as  a  mere  specimen  of 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  403 

caligraphy ;  for  not  only  was  it  beautifully  written,  but  in 
letters  of  various  sizes.  There  were  three  gigantic  vowe's, 
I.  O.  U.  There  were  little  wee  notifications  of  time  and 
place,  and  other  particulars  of  medium  size.  The  general 
result  was,  that  Henry  Kenealy  O'd  Lucy  Fountain  ninety 
pound  for  value  received  per  loan.  Lucy  caught  at  the 
meaning.  "  But,  my  dear  friend,"  said  she,  innocently, 
"you  mistake.  I  did  not  lend  it  you;  I  meant  to  give  it 
you.  Will  you  not  accept  it  ?  Are  we  not  friends  ?" 

"Much  oblaiged.     Couldn't  do  it.     Dishonable." 

"  Oh,  pray  do  not  let  me  wound  your  pride.  I  know 
what  it  is  to  have  one's  pride  wounded ;  call  it  a  loan  if 
you  wish.  But,  dear  friend,  what  am  I  to  do  with  this  ?" 

"  When  you  want  the  money,  order  your  man  of  business 
to  present  it  to  me,  and  if  I  don't  pay,  lock  me  up,  for  I 
shall  deserve  it." 

"  I  think  I  understand.  This  is  a  memorandum — a  sort 
of  reminder." 

"  Yaas." 

"  Then  clearly  I  am  not  the  person  to  whom  it  should  be 
given.  No ;  if  you  want  to  be  reminded  of  this  mighty 
matter,  put  this  in  your  own  desk ;  if  it  gets  into  mine, 
you  will  never  see  it  again ;  I  will  give  you  fair  warning : 
there — hide  it — quick — here  they  come." 

They  did  come,  all  but  Mr.  Bazalgette,  who  was  at  work 
in  his  study.  Mr.  Talboys  came  up  to  the  piano  and  said 
gravely,  "  Miss  Fountain,  are  you  aware  of  the  fate  of  the 
lugger— of  the  boat  we  went  out  in  ?" 

"  Indeed  I  am.  I  have  sent  the  poor  widow  some  clothes 
and  a  little  money." 

"  I  have  only  just  been  informed  of  it,"  said  Mr.  Talboys, 
"  and  I  feel  under  considerable  obligations  to  Mr.  Dodd." 

"  The  feeling  does  you  credit." 

"  Should  you  meet  him,  will  you  do  me  the  honor  to  ex- 
press my  gratitude  to  him  ?" 

"I  would,  with  pleasure,  Mr.  Talboys,  but  there  is  no 
chance  whatever  of  my  seeing  Mr.  Dodd.  His  sister  is 


404        LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

staying  in  Market  street,  No.  80,  and  if  you  would  call  QJ 
them  or  write  to  them,  it  would  be  a  kindness,  and  I  think 
they  would  both  feel  it." 

"Humph!"  said  Talboys,  doubtfully.  Here  a  servant 
stepped  up  to  Miss  Fountain :  "  Master  would  be  glad  to 
see  you  in  his  study,  miss." 

"  I  have  got  something  for  you,  Lucy.  I  know  what  it  is, 
so  run  away  with  it,  and  read  it  in  your  own  room,  for  I  am 
busy."  He  handed  her  a  long  sealed  packet.  She  took  it, 
trembling,  and  flew  to  her  own  room  with  it,  like  a  hawk 
carrying  off  a  little  bird  to  its  nest. 

She  broke  the  enormous  seal,  and  took  out  the  inclosure. 
It  was  David  Dodd's  commission :  he  was  captain  of  the 
"  Eajah,"  the  new  ship  of  eleven  hundred  tons  burden. 

While  she  gazes  at  it  with  dilating  eye  and  throbbing 
heart,  I  may  as  well  undeceive  the  reader.  This  was  not 
really  effected  in  forty-eight  hours.  Bazalgette  only  pre- 
tended that,  partly  out  of  fun,  partly  out  of  nobility.  Ever 
since  a  certain  interview  in  his  study  with  David  Dodd, 
who  was  a  man  after  his  own  heart,  he  had  taken  a  note, 
and  had  worked  for  him  with  "  the  Company ;"  for  Bazal- 
gette was  one  of  those  rare  men  who  reduce  performance  to 
a  certainty  long  before  they  promise.  His  promises  were 
like  pie-crust  made  to  be  eaten,  and  eaten  hot. 

Lucy  came  out  of  her  room,  and  at  the  same  moment  is- 
sued forth  from  hers  Mrs.  Bazalgette  in  a  fine  new  dress. 
It  was  that  black  glace  silk,  divested  of  gloom  by  cheerful 
accessories,  in  which  she  had  threatened  to  mourn  eternally 
Lucy's  watery  fate.  Fire  flashed  from  the  young  lady's 
eyes  at  the  sight  of  it.  She  went  down  to  her  uncle,  mut- 
tering between  her  ivory  teeth,  "  All  the  same — all  the 
same ;"  and  her  heart  flowed.  The  next  minute,  at  sight 
of  Mr.  Bazalgette,  it  ebbed.  She  came  into  his  room,  say- 
ing, "  Oh,  Uncle  Bazalgette,  it  is  not  to  thank  you — that  I 
can  never  do  worthily;  it  is  to  ask  another  favor.  Do, 
pray,  let  me  spend  this  evening  with  you ;  let  me  be  where 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  405 

you  are.  I  will  be  as  still  as  a  mouse.  See,  I  have  brought 
some  work  ;  or,  if  you  would  but  let  me  help  you.  Indeed, 
uncle,  I  am  not  a  fool.  I  am  very  quick  to  learn  at  the 
bidding  of  those  I  love.  Let  me  write  your  letters  for  you, 
or  fold  them  up,  or  direct  them,  or  something — do,  pray  !" 

"  Oh,  the  caprices  of  young  ladies  !  Well,  can  you  write 
large  and  plain  ?  Not  you." 

"  I  can  imitate  any  thing  or  any  body." 

"  Imitate  this  hand,  then.  I'll  walk  and  dictate,  you  sit 
and  write." 

"Oh,  how  nice!" 

"  Delicious  !  The  first  is  to  —  Hetherington.  Now, 
Lucy,  this  is  a  dishonest,  ungrateful  old  rogue,  who  has 
made  thousands  by  me,  and  now  wants  to  let  me  into  a 
mine,  with  nothing  in  it  but  water.  It  would  suck  up 
twenty  thousand  pounds  as  easily  as  that  blotting-paper  will 
suck  up  our  signatures." 

" Heartless  traitor !  monster!"  cried  Lucy. 

"  Are  you  ready  ?" 

"Yes;"  and  her  eye  flashed,  and  the  pen  was  to  her  a 
stiletto. 

Bazalgette  dictated,  "  My  dear  Sir — " 

"  What !   to  a  cheat  ?" 

"  Custom,  child.  I'll  have  a  stamp  made.  Besides,  if 
we  let  them  see  we  see  through  them,  they  would  play 
closer  and  closer — " 

"'My  dear  Sir, — In  answer  to  yours  of  date  llth  in- 
stant, I  regret  to  say — that  circumstances  prevent — my  clos- 
ing— with  your  obliging — and  friendly  offer.'  " 

They  wrote  eight  letters ;  and  Lucy's  quick  fingers  fold- 
ed up  prospectuses,  and  her  rays  brightened  the  room. 
When  the  work  was  done,  she  clung  round  Mr.  Bazalgette 
and  caressed  him,  and  seemed  strangely  unwilling  to  part 
with  him  at  all ;  in  fact,  it  was  twelve  o'clock,  and  the 
drawing-room  empty  when  they  parted. 

At  one  o'clock  the  whole  house  was  dark  except  one 


406  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

room,  and  both  windows  of  that  room  blazed  with  light. 
And  it  happened  there  was  a  spectator  of  this  phenomenon. 
A  man  stood  upon  the  grass  and  eyed  those  lights  as  if  they 
were  the  stars  of  his  destiny. 

It  was  David  Dodd.  Poor  David !  he  had  struck  a  bar- 
gain, and  was  to  command  a  coasting  vessel,  and  carry  wood 
from  the  Thames  to  our  southern  ports.  An  irresistible 
impulse  brought  him  to  look  before  he  sailed  on  the  place 
that  held  the  angel  who  had  destroyed  his  prospects,  and 
whom  he  loved  as  much  as  ever,  though  he  was  too  proud 
to  court  a  second  refusal. 

"  She  watches  too,"  thought  David,  "  but  it  is  not  for 
me,  as  I  for  her." 

At  half  past  one  the  lights  began  to  dance  before  his 
wearied  eyes,  and  presently  David,  weakened  by  his  late 
fever,  dozed  off  and  forgot  all  his  troubles,  and  slept  as 
sweetly  on  the  grass  as  he  had  often  slept  on  the  hard  deck, 
with  his  head  upon  a  gun. 

Luck  was  against  the  poor  fellow.  He  had  not  been  un- 
conscious much  more  than  ten  minutes  when  Lucy's  win- 
dow opened,  and  she  looked  out ;  and  he  never  saw  her. 
Nor  did  she  see  him ;  for,  though  the  moon  was  bright,  it 
was  not  shining  on  him :  he  lay  within  the  shadow  of  a 
tree.  But  Lucy  did  see  something — a  light  upon  the  turn- 
pike-road about  forty  yards  from  Mr.  Bazalgette's  gates. 
She  slipped  cautiously  down,  a  band-box  in  her  hand,  and, 
unbolting  the  door  that  opened  on  the  garden,  issued  out, 
passed  within  a  few  yards  of  Dodd,  and  went  round  to  the 
front,  and  finally  reached  the  turnpike-road.  There  she 
found  Mrs.  Wilson,  with  a  light-covered  cart  and  horse,  and 
a  lantern.  At  sight  of  her  Mrs.  Wilson  put  out  the  light, 
and  they  embraced ;  then  they  spoke  in  whispers.  "  Come, 
darling,  don't  tremble  ;  have  you  got  much  more'?" 

"  Oh  yes,  several  things." 

"  Look  at  that,  now !  But,  dear  heart,  I  was  the  same 
at  your  age,  and  should  be  now,  like  enough.  Fetch  them 
all,  as  quick  as  you  like.  I  am  feared  to  leave  Blackbird, 
or  I'd  help  you  down  with  'em." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  407 

"  Is  there  nobody  with  you  to  take  care  of  us  1" 
"  What  do  you  mean — men  folk  ?     Isot  if  I  know  it." 
"  You  are  right.     You  are  wise.     Oh,  how  courageous  !" 
And  she  went  back  for  her  finery.     And  certain  it  is  she 
had  more  baggage  than  I  should  choose  for  a  forced  march. 
But  all  has  an  end — even  a  female  luggage-train ;  so  at 
last  she  put  out  all  her  lights  and  came  down,  stepping  like 
a  faiiy,  with  a  large  basket  in  her  hand. 

Now  it  happened  that  by  this  time  the  moon's  position 
was  changed,  and  only  a  part  of  David  lay  in  the  shade ; 
his  head  and  shoulders  glittered  in  broad  moonlight ;  and 
Lucy,  taking  her  farewell  of  a  house  where  she  had  spent 
many  happy  days,  cast  her  eyes  all  around  to  bid  good-by, 
and  spied  a  man  lying  within  a  few  paces,  and  looking  like 
a  corpse  in  the  silver  sheen.  She  dropped  her  basket ;  her 
knees  knocked  together  with  fear,  and  she  fled  toward  Mrs. 
Wilson.  But  she  did  not  go  far,  for  the  features,  indistinct 
as  they  were  by  distance  and  pale  light,  struck  her  mind, 
and  she  stopped  and  looked  timidly  over  her  shoulder.  The 
figure  never  moved.  Then,  with  beating  heart,  she  went 
toward  him  slowly  and  so  stealthily  that  she  would  have 
passed  a  mouse  without  disturbing  it,  and  presently  she 
stood  by  him  and  looked  down  on  him  as  he  lay. 

And  as  she  looked  at  him  lying  there,  so  pale,  so  uncom- 
plaining, so  placid,  under  her  windows,  this  silent  proof  of 
love,  and  the  thought  of  the  raging  sea  this  helpless  form 
had  steered  her  through,  and  all  he  had  suffered  as  well  as 
acted  for  her,  made  her  bosom  heave,  and  stirred  all  that 
was  woman  within  her.  He  loved  her  still,  then,  or  why 
was  he  here?  And  then  the  thought  that  she  had  done 
something  for  him  too  warmed  her  heart  still  more  toward 
him.  And  there  was  nothing  for  her  to  repel  now,  for  he 
lay  motionless ;  there  was  nothing  for  her  to  escape — he 
did  not  pursue  her ;  nothing  to  negative — he  did  not  pro- 
pose any  thing  to  her.  Her  instinct  of  defense  had  nothing 
to  lay  hold  of;  so,  woman-like,  she  had  a  strong  impulse 
to  wake  him  and  be  kind  to  him — as  kind  as  she  could  be 


408         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

without  committing  herself.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  there 
was  shy,  trembling,  virgin  modesty,  and  shame  that  he 
should  detect  her  making  a  midnight  evasion,  and  fear  of 
letting  him  think  she  loved  him.  While  she  stood  thus, 
with  something  drawing  her  on  and  something  drawing  her 
back,  and  palpitating  in  every  fibre,  Mrs.  Wilson's  voice  was 
heard  in  low  but  anxious  tones  calling  her.  A  feather 
turned  the  balanced  scale.  She  must  go.  Fate  had  decided 
for  her.  She  was  called.  Then  the  sprites  of  mischief 
tempted  her  to  let  David  know  she  had  been  near  him.  She 
longed  to  put  his  commission  into  his  pocket ;  but  that  was 
impossible.  It  was  at  the  very  bottom  of  her  box.  She 
took  out  her  tablets,  wrote  the  word  "  Adieu,"  tore  out  half 
the  leaf,  and,  bending  over  David,  attached  the  little  bit  of 
paper  by  a  pin  to  the  tail  of  his  coat.  If  he  had  been  ever 
so  much  awake  he  could  not  have  felt  her  doing  it ;  for  her 
hand  touching  him,  and  the  white  paper  settling  on  his  coat, 
was  all  done  as  lights  a  spot  of  down  on  still  water  from 
the  bending  neck  of  a  swan. 

"No,  dear  Mrs.  Wilson,  we  must  not  go  yet.  I  will  hold 
the  horse,  and  you  must  go  back  for  me  for  something." 

"  I'm  agreeable.  What  is  it  ?  Why,  what  is  up  1  How 
you  do  pant !" 

"I  have  made  a  discovery.  There  is  a  gentleman  lying 
asleep  there  on  the  wet  grass." 

"  Lackadaisy !  why,  you  don't  say  so." 

"It  is  a  friend;  and  he  will  catch  his  death." 

"  Why,  of  course  he  will.  He  will  have  had  a  drop  too 
much,  Miss  Lucy.  I'll  wake  him,  and  we  will  take  him 
along  home  with  us." 

"  Oh,  not  for  the  world,  nurse.  I  would  not  have  him 
see  what  I  am  doing,  oh !  not  for  all  the  world." 

"  Where  is  he  ?" 

"  In  there,  under  the  great  tree." 

"  Well,  you  get  into  the  cart,  miss,  and  hold  the  reins ;" 
and  Mrs.  Wilson  went  into  the  grounds  and  soon  found  Da- 


LOVE    ME    LITTLE,   LOVE    ME    LONG.  409 

vid.     She  put  her  hand  on  his  shoulder,  and  he  awoke  di- 
rectly, and  looked  surprised  at  Mrs.  Wilson. 

"Are  you  better,  sir?"  said  the  good  woman.  "Why, 
if  it  isn't  the  handsome  gentleman  that  was  so  kind  to  me ! 
Now  do  ee  go  in,  sir — do  ee  go  in.  You  will  catch  your 
death  o'  cold."  She  made  sure  he  was  staying  at  the  house. 

David  looked  up  at  Lucy's  windows.  "  Yes,  I  will  go 
home,  Mrs.  Wilson  ;  there  is  nothing  to  stay  for  now ;"  and 
he  accompanied  her  to  the  cart.  But  Mrs.  Wilson  remem- 
bered Lucy's  desire  not  to  be  seen ;  so  she  said  very  loud, 
"  I'm  sure  it's  very  lucky  me  and  my  niece  happened  to  bo 
coming  home  so  late,  and  see  you  lying  there.  Well,  one 
good  turn  deserves  another.  Come  and  see  me  at  my  farm  : 
you  go  through  the  village  of  Harrowden,  and  any  body 
there  will  tell  you  where  Dame  Wilson  do  live.  I  would 
ask  you  to-night,  but — "  she  hesitated,  and  Lucy  let  down 
her  veil. 

"  No,  thank  you,  not  now ;  my  sister  will  be  fretting  as 
it  is.  Good-morning ;"  and  his  steps  were  heard  retreating 
as  Mrs.  Wilson  mounted  the  cart. 

"  Well,  I  should  have  liked  to  have  taken  him  home  and 
warmed  him  a  bit,"  said  the  good  woman  to  Lucy;  "it  is 
enough  to  give  him  the  rheumatics  for  life.  However,  he 
is  not  the  first  honest  man  as  has  had  a  drop  too  much,  and 
taken  's  rest  without  a  feather  bed.  Alack,  miss,  why  you 
are  all  of  a  tremble !  What  ails  you  ?  I'm  a  fool  to  ask. 
Ah !  well,  you'll  soon  be  at  home,  and  naught  to  vex  you. 
That  is  right ;  have  a  good  cry,  do.  Ay,  ay,  'tis  hard  to 
be  forced  to  leave  our  nest.  But  all  places  are  bright  where 
love  abides ;  and  there's  honest  hearts  both  here  and  there, 
and  the  same  sky  above  us  wherever  we  wander,  and  the 
God  of  the  fatherless  above  that ;  and  better  a  peaceful  cot- 
tage than  a  palace  full  of  strife."  And  with  many  such 
homely  sayings  the  rustic  consoled  her  nursling  on  their 
little  journey,  not  quite  in  vain. 

S 


410  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

NEXT  morning  the  house  was  in  an  uproar.  Servants 
ran  to  and  fro,  and  the  fish-pond  was  dragged  at  Mr.  Fount- 
ain's request.  But  on  these  occasions  every  body  claims  a 
right  to  speak,  and  Jane  came  into  the  breakfast-room  and 
said,  "  If  you  please,  mum,  Miss  Lucy  isn't  in  the  pond,  for 
she  have  taken  a  good  part  of  her  clothes  and  all  her 
jewels." 

This  piece  of  common  sense  convinced  every  body  on  the 
spot  except  Mrs.  Bazalgette.  That  lady,  if  she  had  decided 
on  "making  a  hole  in  the  water,"  would  have  sat  on  the 
bank  first,  and  clapped  on  all  her  jewels,  and  all  her  richest 
dresses,  one  on  the  top  of  another.  Finally,  Mr.  Bazal- 
gette, who  wore  a  sombre  air,  and  had  not  said  a  word,  re- 
quested every  body  to  mind  their  own  business.  "  I  have 
a  communication  from  Lucy,"  said  he,  "  and  I  do  not  at 
present  disappi-ove  the  step  she  has  taken." 

All  eyes  turned  with  astonishment  toward  him,  and  the 
next  moment  all  voices  opened  on  him  like  a  pack  of  hounds. 
But  he  declined  to  give  them  any  farther  information  :  be- 
tween ourselves,  he  had  none  to  give.  The  little  note  Lucy 
left  on  his  table  merely  begged  him  to  be  under  no  anxiety, 
and  prayed  him  to  suspend  his  judgment  of  her  conduct  till 
he  should  know  the  whole  case.  It  was  his  strong  good 
sense  which  led  him  to  pretend  he  was  in  the  whole  secret. 
By  this  means  he  substituted  mystery  for  scandal,  and  con- 
trived that  the  girl's  folly  might  not  be  irreparable. 

At  the  same  time  he  was  deeply  indignant  with  her,  and, 
above  all,  with  her  hypocrisy  in  clinging  round  him  and  kiss- 
ing him  the  very  night  she  meditated  flight  from  his  house. 

"I  must  find  the  girl  out  and  get  her  back  ;"  said  he,  and 
directly  after  breakfast  he  collected  his  myrmidons  and  set 
them  to  discover  her  retreat. 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  411 

The  outward  frame-work  of  the  holy  alliance  remained 
standing,  but  within  it  was  dissolving  fast.  Each  of  the 
allies  was  even  now  thinking  how  to  find  Lucy  and  make  a 
separate  peace.  During  the  flutter  which  now  subsided,  one 
person  had  done  nothing  but  eat  pigeon-pie.  It  was  Ken- 
ealy,  captain  of  horse. 

Now  eating  pigeon-pie  is  not  in  itself  a  suspicious  act, 
but  ladies  are  so  sharp.  Mrs.  Bazalgette  said  to  herself, 
"  This  creature  alone  is  not  a  bit  surprised  (for  Bazalgette 
is  fibbing);  why  is  this  creature  not  surprised?  humph! 
Captain  Kenealy,"  said  she,  in  honeyed  tones,  "  what  would 
you  advise  us  to  do "?" 

"  Advertaize,"  drawled  the  captain,  as  cool  as  a  cucumber. 

"  Advertise  ?     What !  publish  her  name !" 

"No,  no  names.  I'll  tell  you;"  and  he  proceeded  to 
drawl  out  very  slowly,  from  memory,  the  following  adver- 
tisement. N.B. — The  captain  was  a  great  reader  of  adver- 
tisements, and  of  little  else. 

"WANDERAA,  EETAEN. 

"  If  L.  F.  will  retarn — to  her  afflicted — relatives — she 
shall  be  received  with  open  aams.  All  shall  be  forgotten 
and  forgiven — and  reunaited  affection  shall  solace  every 
wound." 

"  That  is  the  style.  It  always  brings  'em  back — dayvil- 
ish  good  paie — have  some  moa." 

Mr.  Fountain  and  Mrs.  Bazalgette  raised  an  outcry 
against  the  captain's  advice,  and,  when  the  table  was  calm 
again,  Mrs.  Bazalgette  surprised  them  all  by  fixing  her 
eyes  on  Kenealy,  and  saying  quietly,  "  You  know  where  she 
is."  She  added  more  excitedly,  "Now  don't  deny  it.  On 
your  honor,  sir,  have  you  no  idea  where  my  niece  is  ?" 

"  Upon  my  honah,  I  have  an  idea." 

"  Then  tell  me." 

"  I'd  rayther  not." 

"  Perhaps  you  would  prefer  to  tell  me  in  private  f 


412  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME  LONG. 

"No;  prefer  not  to  tell  at  all." 

Then  the  whole  table  opened  on  him,  and  appealed  to  his 
manly  feeling,  his  sense  of  hospitality,  his  humanity — to 
gratify  their  curiosity. 

Kenealy  stretched  himself  out  from  the  waist  downward, 
and  delivered  himself  thus,  with  a  double  infusion  of  his 
drawl : 

"  See  yah  all  dem — d  first." 

At  noon  on  the  same  day,  by  the  interference  of  Mrs. 
Bazalgette,  the  British  army  was  swelled  with  Kenealy, 
captain  of  horse. 

The  whole  day  passed,  and  Lucy's  retreat  was  not  yet 
discovered.  But  more  than  one  hunter  was  hemming  her  in. 

The  next  day,  being  the  second  after  her  elopement  with 
her  nurse,  at  eleven  in  the  forenoon,  Lucy  and  Mrs.  Wilson 
sat  in  the  little  parlor  working.  Mrs.  Wilson  had  seen  the 
poultry  fed,  the  butter  churned,  and  the  pudding  safe  in  the 
pot,  and  her  mind  was  at  ease  for  a  good  hour  to  come,  so 
she  sat  quiet  and  peaceful.  Lucy,  too,  was  at  peace.  Her 
eye  was  clear,  and  her  color  coming  back;  she  was  not 
bursting  with  happiness,  for  there  was  a  sweet  pensiveness 
mixed  with  her  sweet  tranquillity;  but  she  looked  every 
now  and  then  smiling  from  her  work  up  at  Mrs.  Wilson, 
and  the  dame  kept  looking  at  her  with  a  motherly  joy  caused 
by  her  bare  presence  on  that  hearth.  Lucy  basked  in  these 
maternal  glances.  At  last  she  said, 

"Nurse." 

"My  dear?" 

"  If  you  had  never  done  any  thing  for  me,  still  I  should 
know  you  loved  me." 

"Should  ye,  now?" 

"  Oh  yes ;  there  is  the  look  in  your  eye  that  I  used  to 
long  to  see  in  my  poor  aunt's,  but  it  never  came." 

"Well,  Miss  Lucy,  I  can't  help  it.  To  think  it  is  real- 
ly you  setting  there  by  my  fire !  I  do  feel  like  a  cat  with 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME    LONG.  413 

one  kitten.  You  should  check  me,  glaring  you  ou'  o'  coun- 
tenance like  that." 

"  Check  you  ?  I  could  not  bear  to  lose  one  glance  of 
that  honest,  tender  eye.  I  would  not  exchange  one  for  all 
the  flatteries  of  the  world.  I  am  so  happy  here,  so  tran- 
quil, under  my  nurse's  wing." 

With  this  declaration  came  a  little  sigh. 

Mrs.  Wilson  caught  it.  "  Is  there  nothing  wanting, 
dear1?" 

"  No." 

"  Well,  I  do  keep  wishing  for  one  thing." 

"What  is  that?" 

"  Oh,  I  can't  help  my  thoughts." 

"But  you  can  help  keeping  them  from  me,  nurse." 

"Well,  my  dear,  I  am  like  a  mother;  I  watch  every 
word  of  yours  and  every  look ;  and  it  is  my  belief  you  de- 
ceive yourself  a  bit :  many  a  young  maid  has  done  that. 
I  do  judge  there  is  a  young  man  that  is  more  to  you  than 
you  think  for." 

"Who  on  earth  is  that,  nurse?"  asked  Lucy,  coloring. 

"  The  handsome  young  gentleman." 

"  Oh,  they  are  all  handsome — all  my  pests." 

"  The  one  I  found  under  your  window,  Miss  Lucy :  he 
wasn't  in  liquor ;  so  what  was  he  there  for  ?  and  you  know 
you  were  not  at  your  ease  till  you  had  made  me  go  and 
wake  him,  and  send  him  home;  and  you  were  all  of  a 
tremble.  I'm  a  widdy  now,  and  can  speak  my  mind  to 
men-folk  all  one  as  women-folk ;  but  I've  been  a  maid,  and 
I  can  mind  how  I  was  in  those  days.  Liking  did  use  to 
whisper  me  to  do  so  and  so ;  Shyness  up  and  said,  '  La ! 
not  for  all  the  world ;  what'll  he  think  V  " 

"  Oh,  nurse,  do  you  believe  me  capable  of  loving  one 
who  does  not  love  me  ?" 

"No.  Who  said  he  doesn't  love  you?  What  was  he 
there  for?  I  stick  to  that." 

"  Now,  nurse,  dear,  be  reasonable ;  if  Mr.  Dodd  loved 
me,  would  he  go  to  sleep  in  my  presence  ?" 


414  LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

"  Eh !  Miss  Lucy,  the  poor  soul  was  maybe  asleep  be- 
fore you  left  your  room." 

"  It  is  all  the  same.  He  slept  while  I  stood  close  to  him 
ever  so  long.  Slept  while  I — if  I  loved  any  body  as  these 
gentlemen  pretend  they  love  us,  should  I  sleep  while  the 
being  I  adored  was  close  to  me  1" 

"You  are  too  hard  upon  him.  'The  spirit  is  willing 
but  the  flesh  is  weak.'  Why,  miss,  we  do  read  of  Euty- 
chus,  how  he  snoozed  off  setting  under  Paul  himself — up 
in  a  windy — and  down  a-tumbled.  But  parson  says  it 
wasn't  that  he  didn't  love  religion,  or  why  should  Paul 
make  it  his  business  to  bring  him  to  life  again,  'stead  of 
letting  un  lie  for  a  warning  to  the  sleepy-headed  ones. 
'  'Twas  a  wearied  body,  not  a  heart  cold  to  God,'  says  our 
parson." 

"  Now,  nurse,  I  take  you  at  your  word.  If  Eutychus 
had  been  Eutycha,  and  in  love  with  St.  Paul,  Eutycha 
would  never  have  gone  to  sleep,  though  St.  Paul  preached 
all  day  and  all  night ;  and  if  Dorcas  had  preached  instead 
of  St.  Paul,  and  Eutychus  been  in  love  with  her,  he  would 
never  have  gone  to  sleep,  and  you  know  it." 

At  this  home-thrust  Mrs.  Wilson  was  staggered,  but  the 
next  moment  her  sense  of  discomfiture  gave  way  to  a  broad 
expression  of  triumph  at  her  nursling's  wit. 

"Eh!  Miss  Lucy,"  cried  she,  showing  a  broadside  of 
great  white  teeth  in  a  rustic  chuckle,  "but  ye've  got  a 
tongue  in  your  head.  Ye've  sewed  up  my  stocking,  and 
'tisn't  many  of  'em  can  do  that."  Lucy  followed  up  her 
advantage. 

"  And,  nurse,  even  when  he  was  wide  awake  and  stood 
by  the  cart,  no  inward  sentiment  warned  him  of  my  pres- 
ence: a  sure  sign  he  did  not  love  me.  Though  I  have 
never  experienced  love,  I  have  read  of  it,  and  know  all 
about  it."  [Jus-tice  des  Femmes  /] 

"Well,  Miss  Lucy,  have  it  your  own  way;  after  all,  if 
he  loves  you  he  will  find  you  out." 

"  Of  course  he  would,  and  you  will  see  he  will  do  noth- 
ing of  the  kind." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  415 

"  Then  I  wish  I  knew  where  he  was ;  I  would  pull  him 
in  at  my  door  by  the  scruf  of  the  neck." 

"  And  then  I  should  jump  out  at  the  window.  Come, 
try  on  your  new  cap,  nurse,  that  I  have  made  for  you,  and 
let  us  talk  about  any  thing  you  like  except  gentlemen. 
Gentlemen  are  a  sore  subject  with  me.  Gentlemen  have 
been  my  ruin." 

"  La,  Miss  Lucy !" 

"I  assure  you  they  have;  why,  have  they  not  set  my 
uncle's  heart  against  me,  and  my  aunt's,  and  robbed  me  of 
the  affection  I  once  had  for  both  ?  I  believe  gentlemen  to 
be  the  pests  of  society ;  and  oh !  the  delight  of  being  here 
in  this  calm  retreat,  where  love  dwells,  and  no  gentleman 
can  find  me.  Ah  !  ah !  oh !  What  is  that  ?" 

For  a  heavy  blow  descended  on  the  door.  "That  is 
Jenny's  knock"  said  Mrs.  Wilson,  <3ryly.  "  Come  in,  Jen- 
ny." The  servant,  thus  invited,  burst  the  door  open  as 
savagely  as  she  had  struck  it,  and  announced  with  a  know- 
ing grin,  "  A  GENTLEMAN— /or  Miss  Fountain! /" 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

DAVID  and  Eve  sat  together  at  their  little  breakfast,  and 
pressed  each  other  to  eat ;  but  neither  could  eat.  David's 
night  excursion  had  filled  Eve  with  new  misgivings.  It 
was  the  act  of  a  madman ;  and  we  know  the  fears  that  be- 
set her  on  that  head,  and  their  ground.  He  had  come 
home  shivering,  and  she  had  forced  him  to  keep  his  bed  all 
that  day.  He  was  not  well  now,  and  bodily  weakness, 
added  to  his  other  afflictions,  bore  his  spirit  down,  though 
nothing  could  cow  it. 

"When  are  you  to  sail  ?"  inquired  Eve,  sicklike. 

"  In  three  days.     Cargo  won't  be  on  board  before." 

"A  coasting  vessel?" 

"  A  man  can  do  his  duty  in  a  coaster  as  well  as  a  mer- 
chantman or  a  frigate."  But  he  sighed. 


416  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

"  Would  to  God  you  had  never  seen  her !" 

"  Don't  blame  her — blame  me.  I  had  good  advice  from 
my  little  sister,  but  I  was  willful.  Never  mind,  Eve,  I 
needn't  to  blush  for  loving  her ;  she  is  worthy  of  it  all." 

"  "Well,  think  so,  David,  if  you  can."  And  Eve,  thor- 
oughly depressed,  relapsed  into  silence.  The  postman's  rap 
was  heard,  and  soon  after  a  long  inclosure  was  placed  in 
Eve's  hand. 

Poor  little  Eve  did  not  receive  many  letters ;  and,  sad  as 
she  was,  she  opened  this  with  some  interest ;  but  how  shall 
I  paint  its  effect  1  She  kept  uttering  shrieks  of  joy,  one 
after  another,  at  each  sentence.  And  when  she  had  shriek- 
ed with  joy  many  times,  she  ran  with  the  large  paper  round 
to  David.  "  You  are  captain  of  the  '  Rajah !'  ah !  the  new 
ship!  ah!  eleven  hundred  tons!  Oh,  David!  oh!  my 
heart !  oh !  oh !  oh !"  and  the  poor  little  thing  clasped  her 
arms  round  her  brother's  neck,  and  kissed  him  again  and 
again,  and  cried  and  sobbed  for  joy. 

All  men,  and  most  women,  go  through  life  without  once 
knowing  what  it  is  to  cry  for  joy,  and  it  is  a  comfort  to 
think  that  Eve's  pure  and  deep  affection  brought  her  such 
a  moment  as  this  in  return  for  much  trouble  and  sorrow. 

David,  stout-hearted  as  he  Avas,  was  shaken  as  the  sea 
and  the  wind  had  never  yet  shaken  him.  He  turned  red 
and  white  alternately,  and  trembled.  "  Captain  of  the 
'Rajah!'  It  is  too  good — it  is  too  good!  I  have  done 
nothing  for  it;"  and  he  was  incredulous. 

Eve  was  devouring  the  inclosure.  "  It  is  her  doing,"  she 
cried  ;  "it  is  all  her  doing." 

"Whose?" 

"  Who  do  you  think  ?  I  am  in  the  air !  I  am  in  heav- 
en !  Bless  her — O  God,  bless  her  for  this.  Never  speak 
against  cold-blooded  folk  before  me ;  they  have  twice  the 
principle  of  us  hot  ones :  I  always  said  so.  She  is  a  good 
creature ;  she  is  a  true  friend ;  and  you  accused  her  of  in- 
gratitude !" 

"  That  I  never  did." 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         417 

"  You  did — '  Eajah' — he  !  he !  oh  ! — and  I  defended  her. 
Here,  take  and  read  that :  is  that  a  commission  or  not  ? 
Now  you  be  quiet,  and  let  us  see  what  she  says.  No,  I 
can't ;  I  can  not  keep  the  tears  out  of  my  eyes.  Do  take 
and  read  it,  David  ;  I'm  blind." 

David  took  the  letter,  kissed  it,  and  read  it  out  to  Eve, 
and  she  kept  crowing  and  shedding  tears  all  the  time. 

"DEAR  Miss  DODD, — I  admire  too  much  your  true  af- 
fection for  your  brother  to  be  indifferent  to  your  good  opin- 
ion. Think  of  me  as  leniently  as  you  can.  Perhaps  it 
gives  me  as  much  pleasure  to  be  able  to  forward  you  the  in- 
closed as  the  receipt  of  it,  I  hope,  may  give  you. 

"It  would,  I  think,  be  more  wise,  and  certainly  more 
generous,  not  to  let  Mr.  Dodd  think  he  owes  in  any  degree 
to  me  that  Avhich,  if  the  world  were  just,  would  surely  have 
been  his  long  ago.  Only,  some  few  months  hence,  when  it 
can  do  him  no  harm,  I  could  wish  him  not  to  think  his 
friend  Lucy  was  ungrateful,  or  even  cold  in  his  service,  who 
saved  her  life,  and  once  honored  her  with  so  warm  an  esteem. 
But  all  this  I  confide  to  your  discretion  and  your  justice. 
Dear  Miss  Dodd,  those  who  give  pain  to  others  do  not  es- 
cape it  themselves,  nor  is  it  just  they  should.  My  insensi- 
bility to  the  merit  of  persons  of  the  other  sex  has  provoked 
my  relatives :  they  have  punished  me  for  declining  Mr. 
Dodd's  inferiors  with  a  bitterness  Mr.  Dodd,  with  far  more 
cause,  never  showed  me ;  so  you  see  at  each  turn  I  am  re- 
minded of  his  superiority. 

"  The  result  is,  I  am  separated  from  my  friends,  and  am 
living  all  alone  with  my  dear  old  nurse,  at  her  farm-house. 

"  Since,  then,  I  am  unhappy,  and  you  are  generous,  you 
will,  I  think,  forgive  me  all  the  pain  I  have  caused  you,  and 
will  let  me,  in  bidding  you  adieu,  subscribe  myself 

"  Yours  affectionately,  LUCY  FOUNTAIN." 

"It  is  the  letter  of  a  sweet  girl,  David,  with  a  noble 
heart ;  and  she  has  taken  a  noble  revenge  of  me  for  what  I 

S2 


418         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

said  to  her  the  other  day,  and  made  her  cry,  like  a  little 
brute  as  I  am.  Why,  how  glurn  you  look !" 

"  Eve,"  said  David,  "  do  you  think  I  will  accept  this  from 
her  without  herself?" 

"  Of  course,  you  will.  Don't  be  too  greedy,  David. 
Leave  the  girl  in  peace ;  she  has  shown  you  what  she  will 
do  and  what  she  won't.  One  such  friend  as  this  is  worth 
a  hundred  lovers.  Give  me  her  dear  little  note." 

While  Eve  was  perusing  it,  David  went  out,  but  soon  re- 
turned, with  his  best  coat  on,  and  his  hat  in  his  hand. 
Eve  asked  in  some  surprise  where  he  was  going  in  such  a 
hurry. 

"To  her." 

"  Well,  David,  now  I  come  to  read  her  letter  quietly,  it 
is  a  woman's  letter  all  over ;  you  may  read  it  which  way 
you  like.  What  need  had  she  to  tell  me  she  has  just  re- 
fused offers  ?  And  then  she  tells  me  she  is  all  alone.  That 
sounds  like  a  hint.  The  company  of  a  friend  might  be 
agreeable.  Brush  your  coat  first,  at  any  rate;  there's 
something  white  on  it :  it  is  a  paper ;  it  is  pinned  on.  Come 
here.  Why,  what  is  this?  It  is  written  on,  'Adieu.'" 
And  Eve  opened  her  eyes  and  mouth  as  well. 

She  asked  him  when  he  wore  the  coat  last. 

"  The  day  before  yesterday." 

"Were  you  in  company  of  any  girls'?" 

"Not  I." 

"  But  this  is  written  by  a  girl,  and  it  is  pinned  on  by  a 
girl :  see  how  it  is  quilted  in  ! !  that's  proof  positive.  Oh ! 
oh !  oh !  look  here.  Look  at  these  two  '  Adieux' — the  one 
in  the  letter  and  this;  they  are  the  same — precisely  the 
same.  What,  in  heaven's  name,  is  the  meaning  of  this? 
Were  you  in  her  company  that  night  ?" 

"  No." 

"Will  you  swear  that?" 

"  No,  I  can't  swear  it,  because  I  was  asleep  a  part  of  the 
time ;  but  waking  in  her  company  I  was  not." 

"  It  is  her  writing,  and  she  pinned  it  on  you." 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  419 

"How  can  that  be,  Eve?" 

"  I  don't  know ;  I  am  sure  she  did,  though.  Look  at 
this  '  Adieu'  and  that ;  you'll  never  get  it  out  of  my  head 
but  what  one  hand  wrote  them  both.  You  are  so  green,  a 
girl  would  come  behind  you  and  pin  it  on  you,  and  you 
never  feel  her." 

While  saying  these  words,  Eve  slyly  repinned  it  on  him 
without  his  feeling  or  knowing  any  thing  about  it. 

David  was  impatient  to  be  gone,  but  she  held  him  a  min- 
ute to  advise  him. 

"  Tell  her  she  must  and  shall.  Don't  take  a  denial.  If 
you  are  cowardly,  she  will  be  bold  ;  but  if  you  are  bold  and 
resolute,  she  will  knuckle  down.  Mind  that ;  and  don't  go 
about  it  with  such  a  face  as  that,  as  long  as  my  arm.  If 
she  says  '  No,'  you  have  got  the  ship  to  comfort  you.  Oh ! 
I  am  so  happy !" 

"No,  Eve,"  said  David,  "if  she  won't  give  me  herself, 
I'll  never  take  her  ship.  I'd  die  a  foretopman  sooner;" 
and,  with  these  parting  words,  he  renewed  all  his  sister's 
anxiety.  She  sat  down  sorrowfully,  and  the  horrible  idea 
gained  on  her  that  there  was  mania  in  David's  love  for 
Lucy. 


CHAPTER  XXVHI. 

DAVID  had  one  advantage  over  others  that  were  now- 
hunting  Lucy.  Mrs.  Wilson  had  unwittingly  given  him 
pretty  plain  directions  how  to  find  her  farm-house ;  and  as 
Eve,  in  the  exercise  of  her  discretion,  or  indiscretion,  had 
shown  David  Lucy's  letter,  he  had  only  to  ride  to  Harrow- 
den  and  inquire.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  his  competitors 
were  a  few  miles  nearer  the  game,  and  had  a  day's  start. 

David  got  a  horse  and  galloped  to  Harrowden,  fed  him 
at  the  inn,  and  asked  where  Mrs.  Wilson's  farm  was.  The 
waiter,  a  female,  did  not  know,  but  would  inquire.  Mean- 
time David  asked  for  two  sheets  of  paper,  and  wrote  a  few 


420  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

lines  on  each ;  then  folded  them  both  (in  those  days  envel- 
opes were  not),  but  did  not  seal  them.  Mrs.  Wilson's  farm 
turned  out  to  be  only  two  miles  from  Harrowden,  and  the 
road  easy  to  find.  He  was  soon  there ;  gave  his  horse  to 
one  of  the  farm-boys,  and  went  into  the  kitchen  and  asked 
if  Miss  Fountain  lived  there.  This  question  threw  him  into 
the  hands  of  Jenny,  who  invited  him  to  follow  her,  and, 
unlike  your  powdered  and  noiseless  lackey,  pounded  the 
door  with  her  fist,  kicked  it  open  with  her  foot,  and  an- 
nounced him  with  that  thunderbolt  of  language  which  fell 
so  inopportunely  on  Lucy's  self-congratulations. 

The  look  Mrs.  Wilson  cast  on  Lucy  was  droll  enough ; 
but  when  David's  square  shoulders  and  handsome  face  filled 
up  the  doorway,  a  second  look  followed  that  spoke  folios. 

Lucy  rose,  and  with  heightened  color,  but  admirable  self- 
possession,  welcomed  David  like  a  valued  friend. 

Mrs.  Wilson's  greeting  was  broad  and  hearty ;  and  very 
soon  after  she  had  made  him  sit  down,  she  bounced  up,  cry- 
ing, "You  will  stay  dinner  now  you  be  come,  and  I  must 
see  as  they  don't  starve  you."  So  saying,  out  she  went; 
but,  looking  back  at  the  door,  was  transfixed  by  an  arrow 
of  reproach  from  her  nursling's  eye. 

Lucy's  reception  of  David,  kind  as  it  was,  was  not  en- 
couraging to  one  coming  on  David's  errand,  for  there  was 
the  wrong  shade  of  amity  in  it. 

In  times  past  it  would  have  cooled  David  with  misgiv- 
ings, but  now  he  did  not  give  himself  time  to  be  discour- 
aged ;  he  came  to  make  a  last  desperate  effort,  and  he  made 
it  at  once.  "  Miss  Lucy,  I  have  got  the  '  Rajah,'  thanks  to 
you." 

"  Thanks  to  me,  Mr.  Dodd  ?  Thanks  to  your  own  high 
character  and  merit." 

"No,  Miss  Lucy,  you  know  better,  and  I  know  better, 
and  there  is  your  own  sweet  handwriting  to  prove  it." 

"  Miss  Dodd  has  showed  you  my  letter  ?" 

"How  could  she  help  it?" 

"What  a  pity!  how  injudicious  I" 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME    LONG.  421 

"  The  truth  is  like  the  light ;  why  keep  it  out  ?  Yes  ; 
what  I  have  worked  for,  and  battled  the  weather  so  many 
years,  and  been  sober  and  prudent,  and  a  hard  student  at 
every  idle  hour — that  has  come  to  me  in  one  moment  from 
your  dear  hand." 

"  It  is  a  shame." 

"  Bless  you,  Miss  Lucy,"  cried  David,  not  noting  the  re- 
mark. 

Lucy  blushed,  and  the  water  stood  in  her  eyes.  She 
murmured  softly,  "You  should  not  say  Miss  Lucy;  it  is 
not  customary.  You  should  say  Lucy,  or  Miss  Fountain." 

This  apropos  remark  by  way  of  a  female  diversion. 

"  Then  let  me  say  Lucy  to-day,  for  perhaps  I  shall  never 
say  that,  or  any  thing  that  is  sweet  to  say  again.  Lucy, 
you  know  what  I  came  for?" 

"  Oh  yes,  to  receive  my  congratulations." 

"  More  than  that,  a  great  deal — to  ask  you  to  go  halves, 
in  the  'Eajah.'" 

Lucy's  eyebrows  demanded  an  explanation. 

"  She  is  worth  two  thousand  a  year  to  her  commander ; 
and  that  is  too  much  for  a  bachelor." 

Lucy  colored  and  smiled.  "  Why,  it  is  only  just  enough 
for  bachelors  to  live  upon." 

"  It  is  too  much  for  me  alone,  under  the  circumstances," 
said  David,  gravely ;  and  there  was  a  little  silence. 

"  Lucy,  I  love  you.  With  you  the  '  Eajah'  would  be  a 
godsend.  She  will  help  me  keep  you  in  the  company  you 
have  been  used  to,  and  were  made  to  brighten  and  adorn ; 
but  without  you  I  can  not  take  her  from  your  hand,  and,  to 
speak  plain,  I  won't." 

"  Oh,  Mr.  Dodd !" 

"No,  Lucy ;  before  I  knew  you,  to  command  a  ship  was 
the  height  of  my  ambition — her  quarter-deck  my  heaven  on 
earth ;  and  this  is  a  clipper,  I  own  it ;  I  saw  her  in  the 
docks.  But  you  have  taught  me  to  look  higher.  Share 
my  ship  and  my  heart  with  me,  and  certainly  the  ship  will 
be  my  child,  and  all  the  dearer  to  me  that  she  came  to  us 


422  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

from  her  I  love.  But  don't  say  to  me,  'Me  you  sha'n't 
have ;  you  are  not  good  enough  for  that ;  but  there  is  a  ship 
for  you  in  my  place.'  I  wouldn't  accept  a  star  out  of  the 
firmament  on  those  terms." 

"  How  unreasonable !  On  the  contrary,  you  should  say, 
*  I  am  doubly  fortunate :  I  escape  a  foolish,  weak  compan- 
ion for  life,  and  I  have  a  beautiful  ship.'  But  friendship 
such  as  mine  for  you  was  never  appreciated ;  I  do  you  in- 
justice ;  you  only  talk  like  that  to  tease  me  and  make  me 
unhappy." 

"  Oh,  Lucy,  Lucy,  did  you  ever  know  me — " 

"There,  now,  forgive  me;  and  own  you  are  not  in 
earnest." 

"This  will  show  you,"  said  David,  sadly;  and  he  took 
out  two  Tetters  from  his  bosom.  "  Here  ai-e  two  letters  to 
the  secretary.  In  one  I  accept  the  ship  with  thanks,  and 
offer  to  superintend  her  when  her  rigging  is  being  set  up ; 
and  in  this  one  I  decline  her  altogether,  with  my  humble 
and  sincere  thanks." 

"  Oh  yes,  you  are  very  humble,  sir,"  said  Lucy.  "Now 
• — dear  friend — listen  to  reason.  You  have  others — " 

"  Excuse  my  interrupting  you,  but  it  is  a  rule  with  me 
never  to  reason  about  right  and  wrong ;  I  notice  that  who- 
ever does  that  ends  by  choosing  wrong.  I  don't  go  to  my 
head  to  find  out  my  duty,  I  go  to  my  heart ;  and  what  lit- 
tle manhood  there  is  in  me  all  cries  out  against  me  com- 
pounding with  the  woman  I  love,  and  taking  a  ship  instead 
of  her." 

"  How  unkind  you  are !  It  is  not  as  if  I  was  under  no 
obligations  to  you.  Is  not  my  life  worth  a  ship?  an  angel 
like  me?" 

"  I  can't  see  it  so.  It  was  a  greater  pleasure  to  me  to 
save  your  life,  as  you  call  it,  than  it  could  be  to  you.  I 
can't  let  that  into  the  account.  A  woman  is  a  woman,  but 
a  man  is  a  man ;  and  I  will  be  under  no  obligation  to  you 
but  one." 

"What  arrogance!" 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         423 

"  Don't  you  be  angry ;  I'll  love  you  and  bless  you  all  the 
same.  But  I  am  a  man,  and  a  man  I'll  die,  whether  I  die 
captain  of  a  ship  or  of  a  foretop.  Poor  Eve !" 

"  See  how  power  tries  people,  and  brings  out  their  true 
character.  Since  you  commanded  the  '  Rajah'  you  are  all 
changed.  You  used  to  be  submissive  ;  now  you  must  have 
your  own  way  entirely.  You  will  fling  my  poor  ship  in 
my  face  unless  I  give  you — but  this  is  really  using  force — 
yes,  Mr.  Dodd,  this  is  using  force.  Somebody  has  told  you 
that  my  sex  yield  when  downright  compulsion  is  used.  It 
is  true;  and  the  more  ungenerous  to  apply  it;"  and  she 
melted  into  a  few  placid  tears. 

David  did  not  know  this  sign  of  yielding  in  a  woman, 
and  he  groaned  at  the  sight  and  hung  his  head. 

"Advise  me  what  I  had  better  do." 

To  this  singular  proposal  David,  listening  to  the  ill  ad- 
vice of  the  fiend  Generosity,  groaned  out,  "  Why  should 
you  be  tormented  and  made  cry?" 

"Why  indeed?" 

"Nothing can  change  me;  I  advise  you  to  cut  it  short." 

"  Oh  !  do  you  ?  very  well.  Why  did  you  say  '  poor 
Eve?"' 

"  Ah  !  poor  thing  !  she  cried  for  joy  when  she  read  your 
letter,  but  when  I  go  back  she  will  cry  for  grief;"  and  his 
voice  faltered. 

"  I  will  cut  this  short,  Mr.  Dodd ;  give  me  that  paper." 

"  Which  V ' 

"  The  wicked  one,  where  you  refuse  my  '  Rajah.'  " 

David  hesitated. 

"  You  are  no  gentleman,  sir,  if  you  refuse  a  lady.  Give 
it  me  this  instant,"  cried  Lucy,  so  haughtily  and  imperious- 
ly that  David  did  not  know  her,  and  gave  her  the  letter 
with  a  half-cowed  air. 

She  took  it,  and  with  both  her  supple  white  hands  tore  it 
with  insulting  precision  exactly  in  half.  "  There,  sir  ;  and 
there,  sir"  (exactly  in  four) ;  "  and  there  (in  eight,  with  ma- 
licious exactness) ;  and  there ;"  and,  though  it  seemed  im- 


424         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

possible  to  effect  another  separation,  yet  the  taper  fingers 
and  a  resolute  will  reduced  it  to  tiny  bits.  She  then  made 
a  gesture  to  throw  them  in  the  fire,  but  thought  better  of  it 
and  held  them. 

David  looked  on,  almost  amused  at  this  zealous  demoli- 
tion of  a  thing  he  could  so  easily  replace.  He  said,  part 
sadly,  part  doggedly,  part  apologetically,  "  I  can  write  an- 
other." 

"  But  you  will  not.     Oh,  Mr.  Dodd,  don't  you  see  ?  !" 

He  looked  up  at  her  eagerly.  To  his  surprise,  her  haugh- 
ty eagle  look  had  gone,  and  she  seemed  a  pitying  goddess, 
all  tenderness  and  benignity ;  only  her  mantling,  burning 
cheek  showed  her  to  be  woman. 

She  faltered,  in  answer  to  his  wild,  eager  look,  "  "Was  I 
ever  so  rude  before  ?  What  right  have  I  to  tear  your  let- 
ter unless  I — " 

The  characteristic  full  stop,  and,  above  all,  the  heaving 
bosom,  the  melting  eye,  and  the  red  cheek,  were  enough  even 
for  poor  simple  David.  Heaven  seemed  to  open  on  him. 
His  burning  kisses  fell  on  the  sweet  hands  that  had  torn  his 
death-warrant.  No  resistance.  She  blushed  higher,  but 
smiled.  His  powerful  arm  curled  round  her.  She  looked 
a  little  scared,  but  not  much.  He  kissed  her  sweet  cheek : 
the  blush  spread  to  her  very  forehead  at  that,  but  no  re- 
sistance. As  the  winged  and  rapid  bird,  if  her  feathers  be 
but  touched  with  a  speck  of  bird-lime,  loses  all  power  of 
flight,  so  it  seemed  as  if  that  one  kiss,  the  first  a  stranger 
had  ever  pressed  on  Lucy's  virgin  cheek,  paralyzed  her  eel- 
like  and  evasive  powers ;  under  it  her  whole  supple  frame 
seemed  to  yield  as  David  drew  her  closer  and  closer  to  him, 
till  she  hid  her  forehead  and  wet  eyelashes  on  his  shoulder, 
and  murmured, 

"  How  could  I  let  you  be  unhappy?  !" 

Neither  spoke  for  a  while.  Each  felt  the  other's  heart 
beat ;  and  David  drank  that  ecstasy  of  silent,  delirious  blis* 
"which  comes  to  great  hearts  once  in  a  life. 

Had  he  not  earned  it? 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.  425 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

BY  some  mighty  instinct  Mrs. Wilson  knew  when  to  come 
in.  She  came  to  the  door  just  one  minute  after  Lucy  had 
capitulated,  and,  turning  the  handle,  but  without  opening 
the  door,  bawled  some  fresh  directions  to  Jenny :  this  was 
to  enable  Lucy  to  smooth  her  ruffled  feathers,  if  necessary, 
and  look  Agnes.  But  Lucy's  actual  contact  with  that  hon- 
est heart  seemed  to  have  made  a  change  in  her :  instead  of 
doing  Agnes,  she  confronted  (after  a  fashion  of  her  own) 
the  situation  she  had  so  long  evaded. 

"  Oh,  nurse !"  she  cried,  and  wreathed  her  arms  round  her. 

"  Don't  ciy,  my  lamb !  I  can  guess." 

"  Cry  ?  oh  no ;  I  would  not  pay  him  so  poor  a  compli- 
ment. It  was  to  say, '  Dear  nurse,  you  must  love  Mr.  Dodd 
as  well  as  me  now.' " 

The  dame  received  this  indirect  intelligence  with  hearty 
delight. 

"  That  won't  cost  me  much  trouble,"  said  she.  "  He  is 
the  one  I'd  have  picked  out  of  all  England  for  my  nursling. 
When  a  young  man  is  kind  to  an  old  woman,  it  is  a  good 
sign ;  but,  la !  his  face  is  enough  for  me :  who  ever  saw 
guile  in  such  a  face  as  that?  Aren't  ye  hungry  by  this 
time?  Dinner  will  be  ready  in  about  a  minute." 

"  Nurse,  can  I  speak  to  you  a  word  ?" 

"Yes,  sure." 

It  was  to  inquire  whether  she  would  invite  Miss  Dodd. 

"  She  loves  her  brother  very  dearly,  and  it  is  cruel  to 
separate  them.  Mr.  Dodd  will  be  nearly  always  here  now, 
will  he  not?" 

"  You  may  take  your  davy  of  that." 

In  a  very  few  minutes  a  note  was  written,  and  Mrs.  Wil- 
son's eldest  son,  a  handsome  young  farmer,  started  in  the 


« 


426         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

covered  cart  with  his  mother's  orders  "  to  bring  the  young 
lady  willy  nilly." 

The  holy  allies  both  openly  scouted  Kenealy's  advice,  and 
both  slyly  stepped  down  into  the  town  and  acted  on  it. 
Mr.  Fountain  then  returned  to  Font  Abbey.  Their  two  ad- 
vertisements appeared  side  by  side,  and  exasperated  them. 

After  dinner  Mrs.  Wilson  sent  Lucy  and  David  out  to 
take  a  walk.  At  the  gate  they  met  with  a  little  interrup- 
tion :  a  carriage  drove  up ;  the  coachman  touched  his  hat, 
and  Mrs.  Bazalgette  put  her  head  out  of  the  window. 

"  I  came  to  take  you  back,  love." 

David  quaked. 

"  Thank  you,  aunt ;  but  it  is  not  worth  while  now." 

"  Ah !"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  casting  a  venomous  look  on 
David,  "  I  am  too  late,  am  I  ?  Poor  girl !" 

Lucy  soothed  her  aunt  with  the  information  that  she  was 
much  happier  now  than  she  had  been  for  a  long  time  past. 
For  this  was  a  fencing-match. 

"  May  I  have  a  word  in  private  with  my  niece?"  inquired 
Mrs.  Bazalgette,  bitterly,  of  David. 

"  Why  not  ?"  said  David,  stoutly ;  but  his  heart  turned 
sick  as  he  retired.  Lucy  saw  the  look  of  anxiety. 

"  Lucy,"  said  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  "  you  left  me  because  you 
are  averse  to  matrimony,  and  I  urged  you  to  it ;  of  course, 
with  those  sentiments,  you  have  no  idea  of  marrying  that 
man  there.  I  don't  suspect  you  of  such  hypocrisy,  and 
therefore  I  say  come  home  with  me,  and  you  shall  marry 
nobody ;  your  inclination  shall  be  free  as  air." 

"Aunt,"  said  Lucy,  demurely,  "why  didn't  you  come 
yesterday?  I  always  said  those  who  loved  me  best  would 
find  me  first,  and  you  let  Mr.  Dodd  come  first.  I  am  so 
sorry !" 

"  Then  your  pretended  aversion  to  marriage  was  all  hy- 
pocrisy, was  it  ?" 

Lucy  informed  her  that  marriage  was  a  contract,  and  the 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  427 

contracting  parties  two,  and  no  more — the  bride  and  bride- 
groom ;  and  that  to  sign  a  contract  without  reading  it  is 
silly,  and  meaning  not  to  keep  it  is  wicked.  "So,"  said 
she,  "  I  read  the  contract  over  in  the  prayer-book  this  morn- 
ing, for  fear  of  accidents." 

My  reader  may  perhaps  be  amused  at  this  admission ; 
but  Mrs.  Bazalgette  was  disgusted,  and  inquired,  "What 
stuff  is  the  girl  talking  now  ?" 

"  It  is  called  common  sense.  "Well,  I  find  the  contract 
is  one  I  can  carry  out  with  Mr.  Dodd,  and  with  nobody 
else.  I  can  love  him  a  little,  can  honor  him  a  great  deal, 
and  obey  him  entirely.  I  begin  now.  There  he  is ;  and 
if  you  feel  you  can  not  show  him  the  courtesy  of  making 
him  one  in  our  conversation,  permit  me  to  retire  and  re- 
lieve his  solitude." 

"  Mighty  fine  ;  and  if  you  don't  instantly  leave  him  and 
come  home,  you  shall  never  enter  my  house  again." 

"  Unless  sickness  or  trouble  should  visit  your  house,  and 
then  you  will  send  for  me,  and  I  shall  come." 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  (to  the  coachman).  "Home!" 

Lucy  made  her  a  polite  obeisance,  to  keep  up  appear- 
ances before  the  servants  and  the  farm-people,  who  were 
gaping.  She,  whose  breeding  was  inferior,  flounced  into  a 
corner  without  returning  it.  The  carriage  drove  off. 

David  inquired  with  great  anxiety  whether  something 
had  not  been  said  to  vex  her. 

"Not  in  the  least,"  replied  Lucy,  calmly.  "Little 
things  and  little  people  can  no  longer  vex  me.  I  have 
great  duties  to  think  of,  and  a  great  heart  to  share  them 
with  me.  Let  us  walk  toward  Harrowden ;  we  may  per- 
haps meet  a  friend." 

Sure  enough,  just  on  this  side  Harrowden  they  met  the 
covered  cart,  and  Eve  in  it,  radiant  with  unexpected  de- 
light. The  engaged  ones — for  such  they  had  become  in 
those  two  miles — mounted  the  cart,  and  the  two  men  sat 
in  front,  and  Eve  and  Lucy  intertwined  at  the  back,  and 
opened  their  hearts  to  each  other. 


428         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG- 

Eve.  And  you  have  taken  the  paper  off  again  ? 
Lucy.  What  paper  ?     It  was  no  longer  applicable. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

I  HAVE  already  noticed  that  Lucy,  after  capitulation, 
laid  down  her  arms  gracefully  and  sensibly.  When  she  was 
asked  to  name  a  very  early  day  for  the  wedding,  she  op- 
posed no  childish  delay  to  David's  happiness,  for  the  "  Ra- 
jah" was  to  sail  in  six  weeks  and  separate  them.  So  the 
license  was  got,  and  the  wedding-day  came ;  and  all  Lucy's 
previous  study  of  the  contract  did  not  prevent  her  from  be- 
ing deeply  affected  by  the  solemn  words  that  joined  her  to 
David  in  holy  matrimony.  She  bore  up,  though,  stoutly ; 
for  her  sense  of  propriety  and  courtesy  forbade  her  to  cloud 
a  festivity.  But  when  the  post-chaise  came  to  convey 
bride  and  bridegroom  on  their  little  tour,  and  she  had  to 
leave  Mrs.  Wilson  and  Eve  for  a  whole  week,  the  tears 
would  not  be  denied ;  and,  to  show  how  perilous  a  road 
matrimony  is,  these  two  risked  a  misunderstanding  on  their 
wedding-day,  thus  :  Lucy,  all  alone  in  the  post-chaise  with 
David,  dissolved — a  perfect  Niobe — gushing  at  short  inter- 
vals. Sometimes  a  faint  explanation  gurgled  out  with  the 
tears :  "  Poor  Eve !  her  dear  little  face  was  working  so,  not 
to  cry.  Oh !  oh  !  I  should  not  have  minded  so  much  if  she 
had  cried  right  out."  Then,  again,  it  was  "Poor  Mrs. 
Wilson !  I  was  only  a  week  with  her,  for  all  her  love.  I 
have  made  a  c — at's  p — paw  of  her — oh !" 

Then,  again,  "Uncle  Bazalgette  has  never  noticed  us; 
he  thinks  me  a  h — h — ypocrite."  But  quite  as  often  they 
flowed  without  any  accompanying  reason. 

Now  if  David  had  been  a  poetaster,  he  would  have  said, 
"  Why  these  tears  *?  she  has  got  me.  Am  I  not  more  than 
an  equivalent  to  these  puny  considerations?"  and  all  this 
Bait  water  would  have  burned  into  his  vanity  like  liquid 
caustic.  If  he  had  been  a  poet,  he  would  have  said,  "Alas ! 


LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG.         429 

I  make  her  unhappy  whom  I  hoped  to  make  happy ;"  and 
with  this  he  would  have  been  sad,  and  so  prolonged  her 
sadness,  and  perhaps  ended  by  sulking.  But  David  had 
two  good  things — a  kind  heart,  and  a  skin  not  too  thin : 
and  such  are  the  men  that  make  women  happy,  in  spite  of 
their  weak  nerves  and  craven  spirits. 

He  gave  her  time ;  soothed  her  kindly ;  but  did  not  check 
her  weakness  dead  short. 

At  last  my  Lady  Chesterfield  said  to  him,  penitently, 
"  This  is  a  poor  compliment  to  you,  Mr.  Dodd ;'*  and  then 
Niobized  again,  partly,  I  believe,  with  regret  that  she  was 
behaving  so  discourteously. 

"It  is  very  natural,"  said  David,  kindly;  "but  we  shall 
soon  see  them  all  again,  you  know." 

Presently  she  looked  in  bis  radiant  face,  with  wet  eyes, 
but  a  half  smile.  "  You  amaze  me ;  you  don't  seem  the 
least  terrified  at  what  we  have  done." 

"  Not  a  bit,"  cried  David,  like  a  cheerful  horn :  "  I  have 
been  in  worse  peril  than  this,  and  so  have  you.  Our  troubles 
are  all  over;  I  see  nothing  but  happiness  ahead."  He  then 
drew  a  sunny  picture  of  their  future  life,  to  all  which  she 
listened  demurely ;  and,  in  short,  he  treated  her  little  fem- 
inine distress  as  the  summer  sun  treats  a  mist  that  tries  to 
vie  with  it.  He  soon  dried  her  up,  and  when  they  reached 
their  journey's  end  she  was  as  bright  as  himself. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THEY  had  been  married  a  week.  A  slight  change,  but 
quite  distinct  to  an  observer  of  her  sex,  bloomed  in  Lucy's 
face  and  manner.  A  new  beauty  was  in  her  face — the 
blossom  of  wifehood.  Her  eyes,  though  not  less  modest, 
were  less  timid  than  before  ;  and  now  they  often  met  David's 
full,  and  seemed  to  sip  affection  at  them.  When  he  came 
near  her,  her  lovely  frame  showed  itself  conscious  of  his 
approach.  His  queen,  though  he  did  not  know  it,  was  his 


430         LOVE  ME  LITTLE,  LOVE  ME  LONG. 

vassal.  They  sat  at  table  at  a  little  inn,  twenty  miles  from 
Harrowden,  for  they  were  on  their  return  to  Mrs.  Wilson. 
Lucy  went  to  the  window  while  David  settled  the  bill.  At 
the  window  it  is  probable  she  had  her  own  thoughts,  for  she 
glided  up  behind  David,  and,  fanning  his  hair  with  her  cool, 
honeyed  breath,  she  said,  in  the  tone  of  a  humble  inquirer 
seeking  historical  or  antiquarian  information,  "  I  want  to 
ask  you  a  question,  David :  are  you  happy  too  ?" 

David  answered  promptly,  but  inarticulately;  so  his  re- 
ply is  lost  to  posterity.  Conjecture  alone  survives. 

One  disappointment  awaited  Lucy  at  Mrs.  Wilson's. 
There  were  several  letters  for  both  David  and  her,  but  none 
from  Mr.  Bazalgette.  She  knew  by  that  she  had  lost  his 
respect.  She  could  not  blame,  him,  for  she  saw  how  like 
disingenuousness  and  hypocrisy  her  conduct  must  look  to 
him.  "  I  must  trust  to  time  and  opportunity,"  she  said, 
with  a  sigh.  She  proposed  to  David  to  read  all  her  letters, 
and  she  would  read  all  his.  He  thought  this  a  droll  idea, 
but  nothing  that  identified  him  with  his  royal  vassal  came 
amiss.  The  first  letter  of  Lucy's  that  David  opened  was 
from  Mr.  Talboys : 

"  DEAR  MADAM, — I  have  heard  of  your  marriage  with 
Mr.  Dodd,  and  desire  to  offer  both  you  and  him  my  cordial 
congratulations. 

"  I  feel  under  considerable  obligation  to  Mr.  Dodd ;  and, 
should  my  house  ever  have  a  mistress,  I  hope  she  will  be 
able  to  tempt  you  both  to  renew  our  acquaintance  under 
my  roof,  and  so  give  me  once  more  that  opportunity  I  have 
too  little  improved  of  showing  you  both  the  sincere  respect 
and  gratitude  with  which  I  am 

"Your  very  faithful  servant, 

"REGINALD  TALBOYS." 

Lucy  was  delighted  with  this  note.  "  Who  says  it  was 
nothing  to  have  been  born  a  gentleman  ?" 


LOVE   ME  LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  431 

The  second  letter  was  from  Reginald  No.  2 ;  and,  if  I 
only  give  the  reader  a  fragment  of  it,  I  still  expect  his  grat- 
itude, all  one  as  if  I  had  disinterred  a  fragment  of  Orpheus 
or  Tiresias. 

Dear  lucy. 

It  is  very  ungust  of  you  to  go  and 
Mary  other  peeple  wen  you 
Promised  me.  but  it  is  mr.  dod. 
So  i  dont  so  much  mind  i  like 
Mr.  dod.  he  is  a  due.  and  they  all 
Say  i  am  too  litle  and  jane  says 
Sailors  always  end  by  been 
Drouned  so  it  is  only  put  off. 
But  you  reely  must  keep  your 
Promise  to  me.  wen  i  am  biger 
And  mr.  Dod  is  drouned.  my 
Grinny  pigs — 

Here  a  white  hand  drew  the  pleasing  composition  out  of 
David's  hand,  and  dropped  it  on  the  floor;  two  piteous, 
tearful  eyes  were  bent  on  him,  and  a  white  arm  went  ten- 
derly round  his  neck  to  save  him  from  the  threatened  fate. 

At  this  sight  Eve  pounced  on  the  horrid  scroll,  and  hurled 
it,  with  general  acclamation,  into  the  flames. 

Thus  that  sweet  infant  revenged  himself,  and,  like  Samp- 
son, hit  hardest  of  all  at  parting — in  tears  and  flame  van- 
ished from  written  fiction,  and,  I  conclude,  went  back  to 
Gavarni. 


432  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

There  was  a  letter  from  Mr.  Fountain — all  fire  and  fury. 
She  was  never  to  write  or  speak  to  him  any  more.  He 
was  now  looking  out  for  a  youth  of  good  family  to  adopt 
and  to  make  a  Fontaine  of  by  act  of  Parliament,  etc.,  etc. 
A  fusilade  of  written  thunderbolts. 

There  was  another  from  Mrs.  Bazalgette,  written  with 
cream — of  tartar  and  oil — of  vitriol.  She  forgave  her 
niece,  and  wished  her  every  happiness  it  was  possible  for  a 
young  person  to  enjoy  who  had  deceived  her  relations  and 
married  beneath  her.  She  felt  pity  rather  than  anger ;  and 
there  was  no  reason  why  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dodd  should  not 
visit  her  house,  as  far  as  she  was  concerned ;  but  Mr.  Bazal- 
gette was  a  man  of  very  stern  rectitude,  and,  as  she  could 
not  make  sure  that  he  would  treat  them  with  common 
courtesy  after  what  had  passed,  she  thought  a  temporary 
separation  might  be  the  better  course  for  all  parties. 

I  may  as  well  take  this  opportunity  of  saying  that  these 
two  egotists  carried  out  the  promise  of  their  respective  let- 
ters. Mr.  Fountain  blustered  for  a  year  or  two,  and  then 
showed  manifest  signs  of  relenting. 

Mrs.  Bazalgette  kept  cool,  and  wrote,  in  oils,  twice  a  year 
to  Mrs.  Dodd : 

"ET  GARDAIT  TOUT  DOUCEMENT  UNE 
HAINE  IRRECONCILIABLE." 

Lucy  had  to  answer  these  letters.  In  signing  one  of 
them,  she  took  a  look  at  her  new  signature  and  smiled. 
"What  a  dear,  quaint  little  name  mine  is!"  said  she. 
"  Lucy  Dodd ;"  and  she  kissed  the  signature. 

A  Month  after  Marriage. 

The  Dodds  took  a  house  in  London,  and  Eve  came  up  to 
them.  David  was  nearly  all  day  superintending  the  ship, 
but  spent  the  whole  evening  with  his  wife  at  home.  Zeal 
always  produces  irritation.  The  servant  that  is  anxious  for 
his  employer's  interest,  is  sure  to  get  in  a  passion  or  two 
with  the  deadness,  indifference,  and  heartless  injustice  of 
the  genuine  hireling.  So  David  was  often  irritated  and 


LOVE   ME   LITTLE,   LOVE   ME   LOXG.  433 

worried,  and  in  hot  water  while  superintending  the  "  Ra- 
jah," but  the  moment  he  saw  his  own  door,  away  he  threw 
it  all,  and  came  into  the  house  like  a  jocund  sunbeam. 
Nothing  wins  a  woman  more  than  this,  provided  she  is  al- 
ready inclined  in  the  man's  favor.  As  the  hour  that 
brought  David  approached,  Lucy's  spirits  and  Eve's  used 
both  to  rise  by  anticipation,  and  that  anticipation  his  hearty, 
genial  temper  never  disappointed. 

One  day  Lucy  came  to  David  for  information.  "  David, 
there  is  a  singular  change  in  me.  It  is  since  we  came  to 
London.  I  used  to  be  a  placid  girl ;  now  I  am  a  fidget." 

"  I  don't  see  it,  love." 

"  No ;  how  should  you,  dear?  It  always  goes  away  when 
you  come.  Now  listen.  When  five  o'clock  comes  near,  I 
turn  hot  and  restless,  and  can  hardly  keep  from  the  window; 
and  if  you  are  five  minutes  after  your  time,  I  really  can 
not  keep  from  the  window ;  and  my  nerves  se  crispent,  and 
I  can  not  sit  still.  It  is  very  foolish.  What  does  it  mean  ? 
Can  you  tell  me?" 

"  Of  course  I  can.  I  am  just  the  same  when  people  are 
unpunctual :  it  is  inexcusable,  and  nothing  is  so  vexing.  I 
ought  to  be — " 

"  Oh,  David,  what  nonsense !  it  is  not  that.  Could  I 
ever  be  vexed  with  my  David  ?" 

"Well,  then,  there  is  Eve ;  we'll  ask  her." 

>5If  you  dare,  sir !"  and  Mrs.  Dodd  was  carnation. 

Four  years  after  the 

above  events 
Two  ladies  were  gossiping. 

1st  Lady.  "What  I  like  about  Mrs.  Dodd  is  that  she  is  so 
truthful." 

2dLady.  "Oh!  is  she?" 

1st  Lady.  "  Yes,  she  is,  indeed.  Certainly  she  is  not  a 
woman  that  blurts  out  unpleasant  things  without  any  ne- 
cessity ;  she  is  kind  and  considerate  in  word  and  deed,  but 

T 


434  LOVE   ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG. 

she  is  always  true.  She  has  got  an  eye  that  meets  you  like 
a  little  lion's  eye,  and  a  tongue  without  guile.  I  do  love 
Mrs.  Dodd  dearly." 

Two  Qui  his  were  talking  in  Leadenhall  Street. 

1st  Qui  hi.  "  Well,  so  you  are  going  out  again." 

2d  Qui  hi.  "  Yes  ;  they  have  offered  me  a  commissioner- 
ship.  I  must  make  another  lac  for  the  children." 

1st  Qui  hi.   "  When  do  you  sail  1" 

2d  Qui  hi.  "  By  the  first  good  ship.  I  should  like  a  good 
ship." 

1st  Qui  hi.  "  Well,  then,  you  had  better  go  out  with  Gen- 
tleman Dodd." 

2d  Qui  hi.  "  Gentleman  Dodd  1  I  should  prefer  Sailor 
Dodd.  I  don't  want  to  founder  off  the  Cape." 

1st  Qui  hi.  "  Oh !  but  this  is  a  first-rate  sailor,  and  a 
first-rate  fellow  altogether." 

2d  Qui  hi.  "  Then  why  do  you  call  him  '  Gentleman 
Doddf  " 

1st  Qui  hi.  "  Oh,  because  he  is  so  polite.  He  won't  stand 
an  oath  within  hearing  of  his  quarter-deck,  and  is  particu- 
larly kind  and  courteous  to  the  passengers,  especially  to  the 
ladies.  His  ship  is  always  full." 

2d  Qui  hi.  "  Is  it  ?  Then  I'll  go  out  with  «  Gentleman 
Dodd.' " 


LOVE  ME   LITTLE,  LOVE   ME   LONG.  435 


TO  MY  MALE  KEADEKS. 

I  SEE  with  some  surprise  that  there  still  linger  in  the  field 
of  letters  writers  who  think  that,  in  fiction,  when  a  person- 
age speaks  with  an  air  of  conviction,  the  sentiments  must 
be  the  author's  own.  (When  two  of  his  personages  give 
each  other  the  lie,  which  represents  the  author?  both  1) 

I  must  ask  you  to  shun  this  error ;  for  instance,  do  not 
go  and  take  Eve  Dodd's  opinion  of  my  heroine,  or  Mrs. 
Bazalgette's,  for  mine. 

Miss  Dodd,  in  particular,  however  epigrammatic  she  may 
appear,  is  shallow :  her  criticism  peche  par  la  lose.  She 
talks  too  much  as  if  young  girls  were  in  the  habit  of  look- 
ing into  their  own  minds,  like  little  metaphysicians,  and 
knowing  all  that  goes  on  there ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  this 
is  just  what  women  in  general  don't  do,  and  young  women 
can't  do. 

No  male  will  quite  understand  Lucy  Fountain,  who  does 
not  take  "instinct"  and  "self-deception"  into  the  account. 
But,  with  those  two  clews  and  your  own  intelligence,  you 
can  not  fail  to  unravel  her,  and  will,  I  hope,  thank  me  in 
your  hearts  for  leaving  you  something  to  study,  and  not 
clogging  my  sluggish  narrative  with  a  mass  of  comment  and 
explanation. 


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CURTIS'S    HISTORY 

OF  THE 

CONSTITUTION. 


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special  treatise.  We'may  congratulate  ourselves  that  an  author  has  been  found 
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that  it  will  never  need  to  be  done  over  again ;  for  the  sources  have  been  exhaust- 
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out  the  great  mine  of  diplomatic  lore  in  which  the  foundations  of  the  American 
Constitution  are  laid,  and  for  the  light  he  has  thrown  on  his  wide  and  arduous 
subject. — London  Morning  Chronicle. 

To  trace  the  history  of  the  formation  of  the  Constitution,  and  explain  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  time  and  country  out  of  which  its  various  provisions  grew,  is  a 
task  worthy  of  the  highest  talent.  To  have  performed  that  task  in  a  satisfacto- 
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We  have  seen  no  history  which  surpasses  it  in  the  essential  qualities  of  a 
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tended to  remedy.— Boston  Daily  Advertiser. 

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a  tone  and  manner  worthy  of  the  great  theme. — Boston  Post. 

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THE   RISE   OF 
THE    DUTCH   REPUBLIC. 


21 
BY  JOHN  LOTHEOP  MOTLEY. 

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try. —  North  American  Review. 

We  would  conclude  this  notice  by  earnestly  recommending  our  readers  to  pro- 
cure for  themselves  this  truly  great  and  admirable  work,  by  the  production  of 
which  the  auther  has  conferred  no  less  honor  upon  his  country  than  he  has  won 
praise  and  fame  for  himself,  and  than  which,  we  can  assure  them,  they  can  find 
nothing  more  attractive  or  interesting  within  the  compass  of  modern  literature. 
—  Evangelical  Review. 

It  is  not  often  that  we  have  the  pleasure  of  commending  to  the  attention  of  the 
lover  of  books  a  work  of  such  extraordinary  aud  unexceptionable  excellence  as 
this  one.  —  Universalist  Quarterly  Review. 

There  are  an  elevation  and  a  classic  polish  in  these  volumes,  and  a  felicity  of 
grouping  and  of  portraiture,  which  invest  the  subject  with  the  attractions  of  a 
living  and  stirring  episode  in  the  grand  historic  drama.  —  Southern  Methodist 
Quarterly  Review. 

The  author  writes  with  a  genial  glow  and  love  of  his  subject  —  Presbyterian 
Quarterly  Review. 

Mr.  Motley  is  a  sturdy  Republican  and  a  hearty  Protestant  His  style  is  live- 
ly and  picturesque,  and  his  work  is  an  honor  and  an  important  accession  to  our 
national  literature.  —  Church  Review. 

Mr.  Motley's  work  is  an  important  one,  the  result  of  profound  research,  sincere 
convictions,  sonnd  principles,  and  manly  sentiments;  and  even  those  who  are 
most  familiar  with  the  history  of  the  period  will  find  in  it  a  fresh  and  vivid  ad- 
dition to  their  previous  knowledge.  It  does  honor  to  American  literature,  and 
•would  do  honor  to  the  literature  of  any  country  in  the  world.  —  Edinburgh  Re- 
view. 

A  serious  chasm  in  English  historical  literature  has  been  (by  this  book)  very 
remarkably  filled.  *  *  *  A  history  as  complete  as  industry  and  genius  can  make 
it  now  lies  before  us,  of  the  first  twenty  years  of  the  revolt  of  the  United  Prov- 
inces. •  *  •  All  the  essentials  of  a  great  writer  Mr.  Motley  eminently  possesses. 
His  mind  is  broad,  his  industry  unwearied.  In  power  of  dramatic  description 
no  modern  historian,  except,  perhaps,  Mr.  Carlyle,  surpasses  him,  and  in  analy- 
sis of  charo«ter  he  is  elaborate  and  distinct.  —  Westminster  Review. 


2    MOTLEY'S  RISE  OF  TUB  DUTCH  REPUBLIC. 

It  is  a  work  of  real  historical  value,  the  result  of  accurate  criticism,  written 
in  a  liberal  spirit,  and  from  first  to  last  deeply  interesting. — Athenaeum. 

The  style  is  excellent,  clear,  vivid,  eloquent;  and  the  industry  with  which 
original  sources  have  been  investigated,  and  through  which  new  light  has  been 
shed  over  perplexed  incidents  and  characters,  entitles  Mr.  Motley  to  a  high  rank 
in  the  literature  of  an  age  peculiarly  rich  in  history. — North  British  Review. 

It  abounds  in  new  information,  and,  aa  a  first  work,  commands  a  very  cordial 
recognition,  not  merely  of  the  promise  it  gives,  but  of  the  extent  and- importance 
of  the  labor  actually  performed  on  it. — London  Examiner. 

Mr.  Motley's  "History"  is  a  work  of  which  any  country  might  be  proud. — 
Press  (London). 

Mr.  Motley's  History  will  be  a  standard  book  of  reference  in  historical  litera- 
ture.— London  Literary  Gazette. 

Mr.  Motley  has  searched  the  whole  range  of  historical  documents  necessary  to 
the  composition  of  his  work. — London  Leader. 

This  is  really  a  great  work.  It  belongs  to  the  class  of  books  in  which  we 
range  our  Grotes,  Milmans,  Meriyales,  and  Macaulays,  as  the  glories  of  English 
literature  in  the  department  of  history.  *  *  *  Mr.  Motley's  gifts  as  a  histoiical 
•writer  are  among  the  highest  and  rarest. — Nonconformist  (London). 

Mr.  Motley's  volumes  will  well  repay  perusal.  *  *  *  For  his  learning,  his  liberal 
tone,  and  his  generous  enthusiasm,  we  heartily  commend  him,  and  bid  him  good 
speed  for  the  remainer  of  his  interesting  and  heroic  narrative. — Saturday  Review. 

The  story  is  a  noble  one,  and  is  worthily  treated.  *  *  *  Mr.  Motley  has  had  tho 
patience  to  unravel,  with  unfailing  perseverance,  the  thousand  intricate  plots  of 
the  adversaries  of  the  Prince  of  Orange ;  but  the  details  and  the  literal  extracts 
which  he  has  derived  from  original  documents,  and  transferred  to  his  pages, 
give  a  truthful  color  and  a  picturesque  effect,  which  are  especially  charming. — 
London  Daily  News. 

M.  Lothrop  Motley  dans  son  magnifique  tableau  de  la  formation  de  notre  Re- 
publique. — G.  GBOEN  VAN  PRINSTEBEB, 

Our  accomplished  countryman,  Mr.  J.  Lothrop  Motley,  who,  during  the  last 
five  years,  for  the  better  prosecution  of  his  labors,  has  established  his  residence 
In  the  neighborhood  of  the  scenes  of  his  narrative.  No  one  acquainted  with  the 
fine  powers  of  mind  possessed  by  this  scholar,  and  the  earnestness  with  which  he 
has  devoted  himself  to  the  task,  can  doubt  that  he  will  do  full  justice  to  his  im- 
portant but  difficult  subject — W.  H.  PBESOOTT. 

The  production  of  such  a  work  as  this  astonishes,  while  it  gratifies  the  pride 
of  the  American  reader. — N.  Y.  Observer. 

The  "  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Republic"  at  once,  and  by  acclamation,  takes  its 
place  by  the  "  Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,"  as  a  work  which,  wheth- 
er for  research,  substance,  or  style,  will  never  be  superseded. — N.  Y.  Allrion. 

A  work  upon  which  all  who  read  the  English  language  may  congratulate 
themselves. — New  Yorker  Handels  Zeitung. 

Mr.  Motley's  place  is  now  (alluding  to  this  book)  with  Hallam  and  Lord  Ma- 
hon,  Alison  and  Macatilay  in  the  Old  Country,  and  with  Washington  Irving, 
Prescott,  and  Bancroft  in  this. — N.  Y.  Times. 

THE  authority,  in  the  English  tongue,  for  the  history  of  the  period  and  people 
to  which  it  refers. — N.  Y.  Courier  and  Enquirer. 

This  work  at  once  places  the  author  on  the  list  of  American  historians  which 
has  been  so  signally  illustrated  by  the  names  of  Irving,  Prescott,  Bancroft,  and 
Hildreth.—  Boston  Times. 

The  work  is  a  noble  one,  and  a  most  desirable  acquisition  to  our  historical  lit- 
erature.— Mobile  Advertiser. 

Such  a  work  is  an  honor  to  its  author,  to  his  country,  and  to  the  age  in  which 
it  was  written. — Ohio  Farmer. 

Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS, 

Franklin  Square,  New  York. 


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